Martha's rule, a way for families to seek an urgent second opinion if they are concerned about the care their loved ones receive, will be rolled out across all English hospitals delivering acute or short-term treatment.

The telephone helpline, the result of a campaign by the parents of 13-year-old Martha Mills who died after serious failings in her care, has been piloted in 143 hospital sites in England since April 2024.

Figures from NHS England show that since then there have been almost 5,000 calls, resulting in 241 potentially life-saving interventions.

Martha's mother, Merope Mills, welcomed the expansion on what would have been her daughter's 18th birthday but wants UK-wide access.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the new figures proved the need for the rule and "a different, more equal kind of doctor-patient relationship".

Martha Mills, died at King's College Hospital in London after developing sepsis. Her family's concerns were not listened to.

In 2022 a coroner ruled Martha would probably have survived if she had been transferred earlier to intensive care and given appropriate treatment

The initiative encourages families, carers and patients to speak up if they notice changes in the patient's condition and to seek an urgent review from a critical care team if the patient is deteriorating and their concerns are not being listened to.

Under the scheme, clinicians also record daily insights about a patient's health directly from families.

Staff, including those in junior roles, can also ask for a review from a team independent of the one they work with.

Data from NHS England shows of 4,906 calls to Martha's Rule helplines, almost three quarters (71.9%) were from families seeking help:

• 720 led to changes in care, such as new antibiotics or drugs
• 794 helped address delays in investigations or treatments
• 1,030 helped resolve communication issues or problems with patients being discharged

Merope Mills said she was delighted more people were going to get access to the rule.

"I think the data proves there is an need for it and has reassured us and clinicians up and down the country that it is already saving lives.

"And more importantly it has highlighted the need for a different, more equal kind of doctor-patient relationship in the country."

She called for an expansion of the scheme to the rest of the UK, saying it was unfair patients did not have access to it everywhere. She also highlighted a need for it in maternity care.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was grateful to NHS staff who have embraced the campaign and "most of all to Merope and Paul and the Mills family for their campaigning efforts".

He promised to share the latest results with colleagues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

He said he had "seen and heard similar experiences where mothers were not listened to in maternity services".

"So I do think that there are common issues here for the NHS to learn from in terms of listening to patients, listening to women in particular, and making sure that we respond in the right way, in the right place, at the right time to avoid harm and in worst cases, fatalities."

On Radio 4, Ms Mills read out an email she had received from a Today programme listener who believed the life of a child in her family had been saved after calling the hotline.

She read: "I followed Martha's story on Radio 4, never thinking anyone I knew would need to use Martha's rule.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done and are doing to raise awareness and to empower people in an environment where we all naturally feel intimidated."

Ms Mills said while she knows some people feel the word patient doesn't apply to them: "The reality is we are all, as I know, one disaster away from it being about us...

"It could be your mother, it could be your sibling, God forbid it could be your kid who one day needs this," she said.

An ongoing full evaluation of Martha's rule will help inform its possible future expansion into hospitals involved in longer term care, mental health trusts and community settings.

The Welsh Government is introducing a similar scheme, called Call4Concern, which is expected to be rolled out to all hospitals by the end of next year.

The Scottish Government is testing a number of Martha's rule pilots and considering developing a "more consistent, nationwide approach".

The department of health in Northern Ireland said it was "committed to improving patient safety" and whilst there were no immediate plans to introduce Martha's rule there, it would continue to monitor the roll-out and impact in England.

The five-year, £80m restoration of the Big Ben tower in London has been nominated for the UK's leading architecture award, alongside a new fashion college campus, a science laboratory and an "inventive" home extension.

The refurbishment of Big Ben - officially known as the Elizabeth Tower - is among the six nominees for the Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling Prize.

The list also includes the London College of Fashion campus on the former Olympic Park in east London and AstraZeneca's medical research centre in Cambridge.

They are joined by the "pioneering" Appleby Blue Almshouse retirement home and the Japanese-inspired Niwa House, both in south London, and an extension to an "eccentric" home in Hastings.

The Elizabeth line - London's east-west train line - won the prestigious award last year.

The prize is given to the building judged to be "the most significant of the year for the evolution of architecture and the built environment", and is judged on criteria including design vision, innovation and originality.

It is usually given to a brand new building, but can also go to major restorations and renovations.

Other previous winners of the prize - first presented in 1996 - include Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, Hastings Pier and the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.

The 2025 nominees:

• Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
• Elizabeth Tower by Purcell
• Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects
• London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison
• Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects
• The Discovery Centre by Herzog and de Meuron/BDP

Riba president Chris Williamson said the shortlsted projects all "demonstrate architecture's unique ability to address some of the most urgent challenges of our time, responding with creativity, adaptability and care".

Each offers "a blueprint for how architecture can enrich society", and they show a "hopeful vision for the future, one where architecture strengthens communities and helps shape a more sustainable and inclusive built environment", he added.

Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

This social housing development, with 57 flats for over-65s, in Southwark, south London, replaced an abandoned care home, and is billed as a modern version of the traditional almshouse.

The design is intended to "foster community and reduce isolation among residents", Riba said, with communal areas and shared facilities including a kitchen and double-height garden room. "The result is a new standard for inclusive social housing in later life."

Elizabeth Tower by Purcell

The Elizabeth Tower is one of London's best-known landmarks and is often known as Big Ben - although that's actually the name of the bell that produces the famous bongs.

The most extensive works to the tower in its 160-year history included repairs to the clock mechanism; changes to the colour scheme on the four clock faces to put back the Victorian blue and gold; and reinstating St George's Cross flag emblems. Accessibility improvements include a new lift.

The result is described as "a veritable masterclass in conservation and craftsmanship" by the judges - although it came at a cost, going way over its original budget, which was estimated at £29m to £45m.

Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects

This late 19th Century detached hillside house in the East Sussex town has been extended with a series of timber-framed rooms and industrial exterior features including a concrete yard and galvanised steel staircase.

"The result goes beyond a house extension, transforming the entire home and producing a lesson in restrained, inventive reuse," the judges said.

London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison

The college previously had six buildings but the 6,000 students and staff moved to the new 17-storey headquarters in the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, east London, in 2023.

Judges approvingly noted features including its "dramatic staircases unfurling through a shared 'heart space' to encourage collaboration".

Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects

This home, described as a "pavilion-like oasis", was built on a previously derelict plot behind a row of terraced houses in south London for a family with a love of Japanese design. It was also designed to be accessible for a wheelchair-using resident.

"The quality of light throughout the home is breathtaking," the judges said. "Large full-height sliding doors and full-height glazed walls seamlessly blend indoors and out – opening spaces to gardens, courtyards and balconies. It is difficult to see where the building ends and the gardens begin."

The Discovery Centre by Herzog and de Meuron/BDP

Medicine giant AstraZeneca's Discovery Centre "radically redefines the research facility", according to Riba, "blending cutting-edge laboratories with welcoming public spaces".

The striking building has a curved three-sided shape, with a high, jagged exterior glass front and roof. Inside, three glass-lined labs are linked by "clever interconnecting corridors that balance stringent security with transparency, putting science on display".

The TUC, the umbrella group for trade unions in the UK, is calling for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider a range of wealth taxes in November's Budget to help boost investment in public services.

Their top official, general secretary Paul Nowak, told the BBC that people needed to see evidence of change.

"We need a progressive tax system – a tax on online gaming companies and gambling companies, a tax on windfall profits which the banks and financial institutions have seen over the last couple of years."

The Treasury said the government's number one priority was to grow the economy.

In the interview, Mr Nowak called for Reeves "not to take anything off the table" and look at other options including equalising capital gains tax with income tax and, he said, "a wealth tax itself".

"It has been introduced in other countries including Spain, which has one of the fastest growing economies."

Individual unions are likely to make similar demands when the TUC's annual Congress gets under way this weekend.

Mr Nowak focused in particular on the case for levying more from financial institutions.

"Banks have record profits driven by a high-interest environment.

"We think we can still have a profitable bank sector and ask them to pay their fair share."

The prime minister reiterated this week that Labour's financial rules were non-negotiable.

So, to meet the chancellor's self-imposed constraints on debt and borrowing, tax rises appear to be inevitable in November.

The debate in the Labour movement – and elsewhere – is over who to tax and by how much.

Mr Nowak argued that "the big four high street banks made £46bn in profits in one year alone".

Charlie Nunn, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank, has previously spoken out against any potential tax rises for banks in the government's Budget announcement this autumn.

He said efforts to boost the UK economy and foster a strong financial services sector "wouldn't be consistent with tax rises".

And when the left-leaning think tank the IPPR suggested further taxing bank profits, share prices fell.

Asked if this approach could make the markets jittery and potentially drive investors away, Mr Nowak said: "Britain is an attractive place for international investors" and he suggested there hadn't been "an exodus of millionaires" after tax changes for non-doms and ending the VAT exemption for school fees.

He claimed that the TUC's own polling suggested that introducing wealth taxes to fund public services was most popular among voters who had gone from Labour to Reform UK.

Nigel Farage's party conference begins on Friday in Birmingham and Mr Nowak issued this warning to Keir Starmer: "Change still feels like a slogan not lived reality. There is a real danger if the government doesn't deliver the change people want, they will become disillusioned with mainstream politics, and some will look for divisive alternatives like Reform."

While the chancellor has been far from keen on a conventional wealth tax on assets, some in the wider Labour movement are pressing her to look at how those with "the broadest shoulders" pay more.

There is some hope that with a new economic adviser now ensconced in Downing Street and reporting to the prime minister, that the debate on tax is more open than before.

That adviser - Baroness Shafik - has called for taxation on wealth and land in the past.

"The public aren't daft – they know there are difficult choices," said Mr Nowak.

"We need a grown up conversation."

A Treasury spokesman told the BBC that the government's number one priority was to grow the economy and pointed to the chancellor's words last month.

Rachel Reeves said: "We introduced increased taxes on private jets, on second homes and increased capital gains tax.

"So I think we've got the balance right in terms of how we tax those with the broadest shoulders. But any further decisions will be ones that are made at a budget in the normal way."

At least three people have been killed and 20 others injured after Lisbon's famous Gloria funicular cable railway derailed and crashed, emergency services said.

In an earlier statement, the head of Portugal's Civil Protection Authority said that several people remained trapped at the scene and two people were in a serious condition.

Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.

The incident happened near the Avenida da Liberdade around 18:05 on Wednesday evening.

Footage shared widely on social media showed the yellow funicular overturned and almost entirely destroyed.

People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as what appears to be smoke smoke filled the air.

The Gloria Funicular is one of the most famous sights and tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.

The UK and its allies stand ready to support Ukraine before negotiations to end the war as well as to secure an eventual peace deal, the UK defence secretary says.

On the eve of a top-level meeting in Paris, John Healey told the BBC in Kyiv that Ukraine's allies would "help make the skies safe, to make the seas safe, and to secure the land", once a peace deal had been struck.

But moments earlier, Russia's President Vladimir Putin had conveyed a defiant message from China, vowing that his full-scale invasion could continue.

Healey suggested there was bluster in Putin's words, insisting that Russia was under pressure. He also praised US President Donald Trump who he said had "brought Putin into talks" and "not closed off any options", despite widespread criticism of the warm welcome Trump gave the Russian leader last month in Alaska.

As late as Tuesday, Trump said he was "disappointed" in Putin, but he has said that before. He has also threatened to punish the Russian leader for the apparent refusal to end the war - or even meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks.

When asked on Wednesday whether the war in Ukraine could end soon, Putin said "there is a certain light at the end of the tunnel".

"It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution to end this conflict," he said, before threatening: "If not, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily."

He went on to list Russia's maximalist demands as usual - including for the authorities in Kyiv to end what he called discrimination against ethnic Russians - one of the allegations mentioned as a pretext for the full-scale invasion of the neighbour he launched in February 2022.

As for meeting Zelensky, Putin seemed to mock the very idea – which Trump had said he was ready for.

"I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. But is there any point? Let's see," Putin said in Beijing.

Zelensky could always go to Moscow to see him, he said – a "knowingly unacceptable" idea, Ukraine's foreign minister was quick to point out.

Last week, France's President Emmanuel Macron suggested Putin was "playing" Trump.

But John Healey stressed that the US president "has not ruled out any further action, including economic measures, to put more pressure on Putin".

"We in the Coalition of the Willing, nations like the UK are willing to put extra economic pressure on Putin. We're willing to give extra aid to Ukraine so they can keep in the fight.

"It's why we've passed today £1bn ($1.24bn) of seized Russian assets, recycled into military aid and kit to Ukraine. If you like, Putin's dirty money returned with interest."

On Thursday, Macron will host a meeting of that so-called Coalition of the Willing - a grouping of allies of Ukraine, committed to enforcing any peace deal.

A source at the Élysée, Macron's office, has said the group are now ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, only waiting for US confirmation that it will act as the ultimate backstop.

The proposed deal includes continuing to train and supply Ukraine's own army.

It also envisages European troops being deployed to Ukraine - in unspecified numbers - to deter any future to Russian aggression - a signal that Ukraine can count on its allies "full solidarity and... commitment", the Élysée source said.

Such a deployment would need a ceasefire, the responsibility for which "falls to the Americans who are negotiating with the Russians".

John Healey refused to give details, despite being pressed, "because that will only make Putin wiser."

The German government is also playing down expectations of any big announcement at Thursday's meeting.

For the time being, like Italy and other coalition members, Berlin has ruled out sending soldiers to Ukraine to police any future peace on the ground.

A German government spokesman told the BBC that the priority for now was getting Russia to agree to a ceasefire - which Putin has consistently rejected.

President Trump pressed Putin for that during their summit in Alaska last month, then emerged to cite Putin's argument that finding a final deal would be a better way out of the the conflict.

In the meantime, Russia's aerial attacks have intensified in both frequency and scale. On Wednesday night more than Russian 500 drones and 24 cruise missiles were launched at Ukraine.

Across the country, as civilians sheltered in basements or on the metro, the air defence guns went to work.

As usual, the government did not say whether any military targets were hit, but the impact for civilians is often devastating.

Last week, a Russian missile hit a block of flats in Kyiv killing 22 people, including four children, in one of the deadliest strikes since Russia's full-scale invasion.

There is now a heap of stuffed toys in the ruins, and photographs.

From shattered stairways, residents emerge with potted plants and bags of clothes covered in dust that somehow survived the strike. A few steps away, others stand and stare at the wreckage.

A teenage girl said she had left the bomb shelter that morning because it filled with smoke after the first missile hit. Then a second landed across the road and her sister was killed.

Ihor Maharynsky only survived because he was out of town that night. His wife, Natalia, was in their fifth-floor flat and didn't make it to the shelter. He had to identify her body in the mortuary.

"What kind of strategic target is there here?" he demanded, looking around at a car park and a technical college nearby. "There's nothing."

Right now, Ihor sees no prospect at all of peace with Russia.

And like many Ukrainians, he is furious at Donald Trump for rolling out the red carpet in Alaska last month for Vladimir Putin.

"Peace talks with Putin? With this ****?" Ihor wanted to know, with a string of expletives. "It is peaceful people who are dying."

At an ice rink in Vladivostok in Russia's far east, 30-year-old Dmitry Afanasyev is in training with teammates from Soyuz, the local Para ice hockey team.

The players have removed their prosthetic legs and are sitting in specially designed sleds. They're using their hockey sticks to propel themselves around the rink.

Dmitry hopes that one day he'll be a Paralympic ice hockey champion.

Making that happen won't be easy. Russian teams were banned from the last Paralympic Games over the war in Ukraine.

And like all his teammates, Dmitry was on the front line.

"A mine came flying towards me," recalls Dmitry, who was mobilised to fight in Ukraine. "I fell to the ground and could feel my leg burning. I looked down and everything was torn apart. I put on a tourniquet myself and told the guys to drag me out of there.

"My wife's a surgeon. So, I sent her a picture of my leg and she replied: 'They'll probably saw it off.' 'OK,' I said. Whether I have one leg, or two legs. Whatever."

The port city of Vladivostok is more than 4,000 miles from Ukraine and from Russia's capital. This is Asia. The border with North Korea is 80 miles from Vladivostok. China is just 35 miles away.

Yet the consequences of a distant war in Europe are more than visible.

At a cemetery on a hill overlooking Vladivostok there are lines of fresh graves: Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine. In addition to Orthodox Christian crosses, military banners and Russian tricolours mark each plot.

In another section of the cemetery stands a memorial "to the heroes of the Special Military Operation", the official label the Kremlin continues to employ for Russia's war on Ukraine. Here there are more graves of Russian servicemen and the statue of an armed Russian soldier.

"Soldiers live forever," reads the inscription.

On the orders of President Putin, Russian troops poured across the border with Ukraine in February 2022. The full-scale invasion of Russia's neighbour was widely seen as the Kremlin's attempt to force Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit.

More than three and a half years later the war rages on.

On air I'm often asked: what do the Russian people think about the war in Ukraine, about confrontation with the West, and about President Putin?

"What do Russians think?" is a difficult question to answer.

After all, Russia is so big and varied. The largest country in the world spans two continents and 11 time zones. Some parts of Russia, such as Kursk and Belgorod, border Ukraine.

Other Russian regions, like Primorsky Krai where I am now are a long way from the fighting. Vladivostok is its administrative centre.

This is the furthest I've travelled inside Russia since the start of the war. It's a chance to gauge the mood in a very different part of the country.

"Of course we're worried," Svetlana tells me in a Vladivostok park when I ask her about Ukraine. "This has been going on for years now and we want it to end as soon as possible. We had hoped the Alaska summit [of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin] would change something. It hasn't.

"People are people. No matter whether they're British or American, Japanese or Ukrainian. I don't know where all the hatred comes from."

I get chatting to Ilya, who claims that war in Ukraine hasn't fundamentally changed his life in Russia.

"You can still earn a living and get by here," Ilya says.

"The standard of living isn't rising, but it's not falling, either. Still, we hope that relations with other countries will improve and that we'll be re-integrated into the global space."

In the centre of Vladivostok I stop to listen to a band busking on a pedestrian street. I'm not alone. A large crowd has gathered to enjoy the improvised rock concert.

Between songs I talk to the lead singer, a young local musician who calls himself Johnny London.

"Do people talk much about what's happening in Ukraine?" I enquire.

"People of my age, we don't usually discuss that stuff. Not very often. I would go as far as to say we never talk about that."

"Why?" I ask.

"We can do nothing about that. It's out of our hands, out of our reach. Hopefully in a couple of years it will get back to normal."

"And what is normal?"

"No war, I guess. That would be nice."

When I finish talking to Johnny London, a pensioner called Viktor walks up. He's recognised me. He saw me on TV last year at a press conference with Vladimir Putin.

"You asked Putin a question, didn't you?" Viktor says. "You're with the BBC."

Viktor's a big fan. Not of the BBC, but of President Putin. He criticises my "provocative question" to the Kremlin leader on the war in Ukraine, he defends Russia's political system and takes aim at the Biden administration over the 2016 US presidential election.

"With the help of mail-in ballots Biden practically stole the election from Trump," Viktor says.

"That's what Trump says," I point out.

"Not only. Putin says it too," retorts Viktor.

"Putin saying it doesn't make it fact," I suggest.

"True," concedes Viktor. "But that's what our people think."

Viktor also thinks that the West is losing power and influence.

"Look what's happening," says Viktor. "This week in China the leaders of India, China and Russia got together, and with many other countries too. But there was no Trump, no Britain, no Germany, no France. India and China alone are three billion people."

On his way back from China Vladimir Putin is stopping off in Vladivostok. Should I get the opportunity to ask the president another question, Viktor suggests it should be about the "new world order".

The city has been preparing for the Kremlin leader's visit and participation in the Eastern Economic Forum. By the side of the road that leads to the venue, street artist Filipp Dulmachenko has used 1,800 cans of aerosol paint to create a most unusual image.

The gigantic mural depicts Vladimir Putin in military fatigues hugging a Siberian tiger.

"The Amur tiger has always been a symbol of wildlife," Filipp says. "And Vladimir Putin is a symbol of Russia."

Filipp tells me that when he was a teenager he had run-ins with the police over his street art. But the Putin mural has been officially approved by the regional authorities.

And to accompany the picture the artist has spray-painted a short sentence: a phrase Filipp says is simply about sunrise in the Russian Far East.

Combined, though, with the images of a tiger and of a president who believes he's restoring Russian power, the words seem to take on deeper meaning:

"The dawn starts here."

A mother who feared her two-year-old son's untreated constipation could have killed him is calling for access to children's continence services to be made a national priority.

Elissa Novak said Ivan was constantly vomiting, losing weight and in severe pain when it was at its worst, and a doctor said 2kg of his 10kg (22lb) body weight was estimated to be stool.

The number of children aged up to 16 admitted to English hospitals suffering with constipation, among other symptoms, is at a 10-year high, with more than 44,000 admissions in 2023-24, according to NHS figures.

Children are being failed by the absence of dedicated bladder and bowel services in some parts of the country, an expert said.

About 1.5 million children in the UK suffer with constipation, according to the charity Bladder and Bowel UK.

As many children returned to school this week, charities have told the BBC they are seeing a spike in calls to their helplines.

"It's a huge problem and many healthcare professionals don't consider it a serious issue in children," said Davina Richardson, a children's specialist nurse with the charity.

"Discussing wee and poo is very un-British. It's not something that we as a culture do."

Elissa said Ivan, who is now aged five, had been "completely robbed of his toddler years" due to health issues resulting from constipation.

He was admitted to hospital 25 times in one six-month period in 2022 for emergency treatment.

"It was horrific," Elissa said. "He was so frail he couldn't lift himself up or do anything.

"He was in pain all the time and either screaming or just lying there because he was too weak."

Elissa, 35, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said she had constantly gone to her GP to try to get help and answers.

At that time in Warwickshire, there was no bowel or bladder community service, which meant they were going to A&E up to four times a week.

It was only when things got to a crisis point that Elissa was told constipation was causing Ivan's pain.

She thinks he would have died had there been any further delay in treating it.

Elissa was told Ivan's entire colon was impacted, which had pushed up into his lung cavity and compromised his lungs.

'Signs missed'

"His stomach was squashed. All of his organs were being pushed out of the way," Elissa said.

"We were in A&E for up to 12 hours at a time... just waiting for an enema of all things.

"It was a very horrible time. It was so traumatic for everybody."

Ivan has two genetic syndromes which affect his cognitive functions.

Elissa thinks this played a part in the signs being missed and constipation not being diagnosed sooner.

"It was seen as 'that's just what disabled children are like'. We did actually have one consultant who said 'disabled children just scream'," Elissa said.

"It wasn't looked into properly, it wasn't taken seriously until he was really at crisis point. His signs of pain weren't recognised. It was just a perfect storm really."

Ivan now has a care package so his constipation can be managed at home with laxatives and daily bowel wash outs.

"It is a huge part of his life and a huge part of his day. He still suffers pain but it's so much better," his mother said.

Elissa is campaigning for better bladder and bowel care services across the country.

"People are falling through the cracks," she said.

Tips for parents and carers

Here are some of the ways to prevent a child from becoming constipated:

• Ensure your child's diet includes plenty of fruit and vegetables
• Make sure children are drinking enough water-based drinks daily - dehydration can make constipation more likely or worse
• A good toilet position is also helpful. Children need their bottom and the backs of their thighs well supported. Feet need to be flat on a firm surface with knees slightly higher than hips, as that helps relax the pelvic floor

Source: Bladder and Bowel UK

Brenda Cheer, a paediatric specialist continence nurse with children's bowel and bladder charity Eric, said children's constipation was on the rise for a number of reasons, including delayed potty training and today's generation of children spending more time in childcare.

She said children were being failed in areas where there was no dedicated children's continence service.

"There's huge disparity of those services," she said.

"Where is the parent supposed to go? How are they supposed to get the help they need? How is a family supposed to access support if there is no children's bladder and bowel nurse?"

Constipation can be treated in the community and should not require a hospital admission, but is not being recognised, Ms Cheer added.

Holly Brennan told the BBC her daughter Ayda had suffered with chronic constipation for three years and she had been in "turmoil" at the lack of help.

It started when Ayda got a virus when she was two years old and spiralled from there, Holly said.

The 31-year-old described going to her GP six times and being prescribed laxatives to treat it - but not being given any guidance on how to use them, and said she had been told her daughter would grow out of it.

When it was at its worst, Ayda, now five, would have up to 15 accidents a day.

Holly, from Clevedon, Bristol, said: "It was three years of hell. She very much didn't grow out of it.

"We didn't want to go out for day trips because you wouldn't know where the toilet would be and she was constantly having accidents.

"It was just complete stress and caused arguments between my husband and I [about] how to deal with it. It upset her [Ayda] and you try not to get cross with them but it's just frustration and it just affects everything."

Sometimes it would take Ayda a week to go to the toilet because she associated it with pain, her mum explained.

"It was a vicious circle. It was just complete turmoil... something that everyone just used to say she would grow out of or 'it's a phase' or 'she just needs to learn'," Holly added.

"Our life literally revolved around the toilet for three years."

Holly was not referred for further treatment for Ayda or told about children's continence services that could help.

She said it felt like "the blind leading the blind" with several doctors unable to advise her and she had reached a dead end.

It was only when she was told about the charity Eric that things started to get better.

"There was finally an answer on how to help her," Holly added. "It [the website] described my child."

Ayda is now off laxatives and able to control her bowels.

"I'm very proud of her and how she's coped. She's taken it all in her stride," Holly said.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said it is committed to ensuring children get the right care and support when they need it for conditions such as constipation.

In a statement, it said: "As part of our 10-year health plan, neighbourhood health services will bring together teams of professionals closer to people's home to provide comprehensive community care.

"We will also strengthen health visiting services so all families have access to high-quality, personalised support."

Jodie Gosling, MP for Nuneaton and who chairs the all-party parliamentary group for bladder and bowel continence care, said constipation had fallen low on the list of priorities facing local council and integrated care boards.

She said children's continence care "has been a silent casualty of chronic underfunding and reactive healthcare".

"This leads to a postcode lottery, where even high-need areas fail to address issues like constipation adequately."

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As a former police detective, I've attended many car accidents but this summer, for the first time, I was in a head-on collision with another car myself.

Being directly involved in one of the more than 900 car accidents that happen in the UK every day gave me a different perspective.

The woman in the other car, in her early seventies, had a medical episode while driving and swerved straight into my lane and hit me.

At the time, I didn't know any of that - I just remember a huge bang and then everything felt like a blur.

The next thing I knew, two men were at the side of the car trying to get me out. I couldn't move. I was taken to the hospital for scans but amazingly, I got away with cuts and bruises.

I was very lucky, and the witnesses at the scene were so important because without them, I wouldn't have understood what had actually happened.

Here are some of the key things I've now learnt about what to do in the immediate aftermath of an accident.

• Listen to me talking about the accident on Morning Live

1. Be careful what you say

Be mindful of what you say at the scene - both to the other driver and to people around you.

It might feel natural to apologise, even if it's not your fault, but saying "I'm sorry" can sometimes be taken as an admission of guilt.

2. Stop, check for injuries and call 999

Immediately after an accident, stop your car and turn the engine off - you're actually committing an offence if you don't stop after a collision. Then check yourself and your passengers for injuries.

If the cars involved can still move, and the road is clear, try to get your vehicle to a safe place nearby and switch on your hazard lights. If that's not possible, leave it where it is and stand well back from the traffic.

Call 999 if someone is injured, if the other party drives away or if someone is causing a road block.

3. Exchange contact details

Make sure you exchange details with the other driver. Take down their name, address, contact details and insurance information.

You can also gather contact details from witnesses, as their statements can be critical later.

It's important to inform your insurer as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours.

4. Take lots of pictures

It's always a good idea to record as much evidence as possible, even if it's clearly the other party's fault.

Capture photos of the damage and entire scene.

Stand at a distance to show the full layout, including the position of cars, road signs, weather, skid marks and surroundings.

Also look for CCTV on nearby buildings, shops, or public roads that may have captured the incident.

5. Make notes

Making as many notes as possible is helpful to remember exactly what happened.

Some of the vital details to get down are the time and date of the crash, as well as the registration, make, model and colour of all vehicles involved.

Write down any injuries you or other passengers have sustained.

Anything else you remember such as direction of travel, road name, your speed and any unusual behaviour can also be helpful.

6. Gather dashcam footage

My final piece of advice relates to dashcams, which are incredibly useful.

They provide clear, time-stamped video evidence of what happened in an accident, which can quickly resolve disputes with insurers or the police.

They can also capture dangerous driving or road conditions, helping to protect you from false claims.

Additional reporting by Yasmin Rufo

The five-year, £80m restoration of the Big Ben tower in London has been nominated for the UK's leading architecture award, alongside a new fashion college campus, a science laboratory and an "inventive" home extension.

The refurbishment of Big Ben - officially known as the Elizabeth Tower - is among the six nominees for the Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling Prize.

The list also includes the London College of Fashion campus on the former Olympic Park in east London and AstraZeneca's medical research centre in Cambridge.

They are joined by the "pioneering" Appleby Blue Almshouse retirement home and the Japanese-inspired Niwa House, both in south London, and an extension to an "eccentric" home in Hastings.

The Elizabeth line - London's east-west train line - won the prestigious award last year.

The prize is given to the building judged to be "the most significant of the year for the evolution of architecture and the built environment", and is judged on criteria including design vision, innovation and originality.

It is usually given to a brand new building, but can also go to major restorations and renovations.

Other previous winners of the prize - first presented in 1996 - include Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, Hastings Pier and the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.

The 2025 nominees:

• Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
• Elizabeth Tower by Purcell
• Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects
• London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison
• Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects
• The Discovery Centre by Herzog and de Meuron/BDP

Riba president Chris Williamson said the shortlsted projects all "demonstrate architecture's unique ability to address some of the most urgent challenges of our time, responding with creativity, adaptability and care".

Each offers "a blueprint for how architecture can enrich society", and they show a "hopeful vision for the future, one where architecture strengthens communities and helps shape a more sustainable and inclusive built environment", he added.

Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

This social housing development, with 57 flats for over-65s, in Southwark, south London, replaced an abandoned care home, and is billed as a modern version of the traditional almshouse.

The design is intended to "foster community and reduce isolation among residents", Riba said, with communal areas and shared facilities including a kitchen and double-height garden room. "The result is a new standard for inclusive social housing in later life."

Elizabeth Tower by Purcell

The Elizabeth Tower is one of London's best-known landmarks and is often known as Big Ben - although that's actually the name of the bell that produces the famous bongs.

The most extensive works to the tower in its 160-year history included repairs to the clock mechanism; changes to the colour scheme on the four clock faces to put back the Victorian blue and gold; and reinstating St George's Cross flag emblems. Accessibility improvements include a new lift.

The result is described as "a veritable masterclass in conservation and craftsmanship" by the judges - although it came at a cost, going way over its original budget, which was estimated at £29m to £45m.

Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects

This late 19th Century detached hillside house in the East Sussex town has been extended with a series of timber-framed rooms and industrial exterior features including a concrete yard and galvanised steel staircase.

"The result goes beyond a house extension, transforming the entire home and producing a lesson in restrained, inventive reuse," the judges said.

London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison

The college previously had six buildings but the 6,000 students and staff moved to the new 17-storey headquarters in the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, east London, in 2023.

Judges approvingly noted features including its "dramatic staircases unfurling through a shared 'heart space' to encourage collaboration".

Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects

This home, described as a "pavilion-like oasis", was built on a previously derelict plot behind a row of terraced houses in south London for a family with a love of Japanese design. It was also designed to be accessible for a wheelchair-using resident.

"The quality of light throughout the home is breathtaking," the judges said. "Large full-height sliding doors and full-height glazed walls seamlessly blend indoors and out – opening spaces to gardens, courtyards and balconies. It is difficult to see where the building ends and the gardens begin."

The Discovery Centre by Herzog and de Meuron/BDP

Medicine giant AstraZeneca's Discovery Centre "radically redefines the research facility", according to Riba, "blending cutting-edge laboratories with welcoming public spaces".

The striking building has a curved three-sided shape, with a high, jagged exterior glass front and roof. Inside, three glass-lined labs are linked by "clever interconnecting corridors that balance stringent security with transparency, putting science on display".

More than 30,000 UK homes have had botched insulation fitted under government schemes putting them at risk of damp and mould, ministers have revealed.

It is the first time the government has documented the number of homes blighted by sub-standard work under ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme since 2022.

Energy Consumer Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh told parliament it amounted to ''systemic failure". While some households have had remedial work done, anyone concerned should contact Ofgem, the government said.

Mohammed told the BBC he cannot sleep in his bedroom due to damp and mould and is battling to get it fixed: "I have been given nothing but broken promises and false hope."

Mohammed, who did not want to use his full name, applied to get external wall insulation fitted to his Luton home in 2023 under the government scheme ECO4.

He hoped it would make the house warmer and help his late father - who suffered from chronic asthma - to cope during the colder months.

But instead of providing relief, Mohammed said the botched insulation led to damp and mould which covered the walls of his father's bedroom and caused his condition to worsen.

''Day after day, he was forced to inhale this, further weakening his already fragile lungs. My father's health deteriorated until it was too late," he said.

For the last two years, Mohammed says he has had an '''awful battle'' to get the installer to take responsibility.

''The whole experience has taken such a toll on me mentally," he said.

Mohammed now can't sleep in his own bedroom due to black mould, damp and crumbling plaster.

After the BBC revealed last year that botched insulation was leading to damp and mould, the government ordered an audit be carried out of 60,000 properties insulated under the GBIS and ECO4 schemes.

The preliminary findings of the audit suggest that in more than 30,000 homes insulation was not fitted to the appropriate standard and this could lead to damp and mould growth, Fahnbulleh told parliament in a written statement in July.

The government said it is ''working at speed to ensure substandard installations are identified and remediated with no cost to the consumer'.'

Ministers are also promising to soon set out plans to overhaul the consumer protection system ''to restore trust and help more people cut their bills''.

The task ahead is daunting - tens of thousands of homes are likely to need repairs.

Mohammed said he is now in talks with his installer and Trustmark, the organisation responsible for monitoring the quality of insulation, to try to get his home fixed.

Until that happens, he is worried about his young family's health.

"We are inhaling poor quality air because of the damp, the mould and the dust,'' he said.

More than 260,000 properties have had solid or external wall insulation fitted under government programmes over the last 15 years.

Audits are currently only being carried out on homes insulated since 2022 because, ministers argue, ''current data suggests there is not a widespread issue'' in earlier schemes.

Yet the BBC reported in February that residents of Chilton, County Durham, whose homes were insulated in 2021 have also had damp and mould.

The government says concerned consumers should contact Ofgem for advice and support by email at: ECOhelp@ofgem.gov.uk(opens in a new tab) or Freephone 0808 169 444 Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays) 09:30 to 16:30

In a quiet, leafy suburb of Toronto, a 30-year-old Afghan woman spends most afternoons on the phone, hoping she can reach her two younger siblings and father.

They are not in Afghanistan, but instead just miles away, across the border in the US, held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.

The three have been there in crowded cells for months, stuck in what their lawyers say is a bureaucratic limbo between Canada and the US.

They are eligible for asylum in Canada because they have immediate relatives who are legal refugees in the country, but can only file their claim at the land border - and US officials insist that they will only be released if they enter Canada by air, which they can't do without a visa, their US lawyer told the BBC.

That visa application is currently under review and they remain stuck, currently unable to make a claim in Canada and facing deportation from the US.

From her home near Toronto, "Asal" says she has tried everything to get them released. The BBC is using an alias because her family belongs to an ethnic and religious minority group facing persecution in Afghanistan.

She has hired attorneys in both countries to press their case and even offered to cover the costs of ICE agents escorting them to the Canada-US border, to no avail.

The family's case illustrates how some asylum seekers have been caught in rapidly changing policies under the Trump administration, their lawyers and experts say. It also raises questions about whether Canada has a responsibility to expedite entry for people in ICE detention who have ties to that country.

In the meantime, Asal's family members could be sent back to Afghanistan or a third country not of their choosing – "the scariest move of all", argues their American lawyer Jodi Goodwin. That option "puts them at risk of being sent to God knows where, with no assurances of protection," she said.

The father had worked with US troops as a contractor, Asal said, making him a potential target for the Taliban if deported back to Afghanistan.

• 'We were friends of the US': Fearful Afghans face Trump travel ban
• US military vets are helping Afghans fight deportation

For the last eight months, Ms Goodwin has been working to stop US authorities from sending the family to their native country.

Meanwhile, their lawyers in Canada have been pressing authorities to grant the visas they need to get on a plane. Under an immigration pact between Canada and the US - the Safe Third Country Agreement - migrants without a visa must claim asylum at a land border crossing.

Asal speaks with her detained family when she can. ICE allows online "visitations", and she often gets through to her 18-year-old sister.

On a recent call, made using an iPad that she shares with around 80 other cellmates, her sister offered details of her daily life - her struggle to get a good night's rest, her habit of doing the laundry just to keep busy - before she bursts into tears.

In Canadian legal filings shared with the BBC, she states that she has been "shocked" by the conditions in ICE detention.

"Every aspect of our life is controlled, even though we are not criminals," she said.

She describes being strip searched, served "nearly inedible" food and how inmates who refuse to eat are threatened with "solitary confinement".

The BBC sought comment from ICE. Administration officials have previously defended reports of poor conditions in migrant detention facilities in the US as false.

Asal and other family say they struggle to get information about the well-being of those detained, including the youngest brother who was admitted to hospital for 10 days due to seizures and who is now back in ICE detention.

'They just didn't get to their paperwork in time'

The first part of the family, which included Asal and two siblings, arrived in Canada in February 2023, she told the BBC.

It was their preferred destination after reluctantly fleeing Afghanistan as violence rapidly escalated after the Taliban took over.

They trekked to Iran and from there to Brazil then up to the US, where they were held by ICE for four days before heading to the northern border and crossing into Canada via Roxham Road, at the time a well-travelled but unofficial crossing between New York state and Quebec. Once in Canada, they successfully filed for asylum.

"It is safe. There is security, and the community is good," Asal said.

In August 2024, more family members were able to leave Afghanistan and arrived in Canada following a similar path.

But by the time the final group - her mother and father, and her three siblings - made the trip, politics in North America had shifted.

Roxham Road - that unofficial route for thousands of asylum seekers entering Canada between 2017 and 2023 - had been closed, and the US was struggling to deal with a surge of migrants at its southern border.

After unsuccessfully trying legal options to enter the US from Mexico, in December Asal's family remaining members paid to be smuggled across the border, where they then surrendered to authorities.

In February, Asal's mother and one of her sisters were released shortly after Trump took office and signed an executive order expanding the detention and deportation of migrants, and made their way to Canada.

But the remaining three are still in ICE custody, with US authorities refusing to release them under the new rules, Ms Goodwin says.

The fact they weren't released along with the others in February came down to bad timing.

Ms Goodwin says an official told her "they just didn't get to their paperwork in time".

In response to questions from the BBC about the family's case, a senior official with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says, "ICE would happily return them to their origin country" should they request a voluntary departure.

They add that the US "is NOT going to pass off illegal aliens seeking asylum from our country to Canada and vice versa. This is part of being good neighbors and partners".

Adam Sadinsky, one of the family's Canadian lawyers, said Canada has an opportunity to allow this family to be reunited.

"We don't want Canada to be complicit in this treatment, and the potential result that they could be sent to any number of countries with their own abysmal human rights record," he tells the BBC.

Mr Sadinsky also argues that allowing them to enter Canada would be in line with the Safe Third Country Agreement, which contains exemptions aimed at reuniting families.

In a statement to the BBC, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it would not comment on the family's case, citing privacy legislation.

The case poses a conundrum for Canadian officials, says immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.

Mr Kurland, who is not involved with their case, told the BBC that allowing entry to the family could set a precedent for others in ICE detention with ties to Canada. "How can you say 'yes' to just one family, and then, 'no' to everyone else?"

But he adds that he believes both Canada and the US have a responsibility to at least ensure the family is not sent back to Afghanistan.

"It's cruel for the US not to rule out the Kabul flight," he said. "The Americans know what is in store, because they were right there in Kabul for over 20 years."

For now, Asal and her family in Canada continue to agonise about the case, wishing for a reunion.

"Trust me when I say that I cannot sleep most of the night," she said.

But she is hopeful Canadian officials come through and "that they will not leave us alone in this situation".

At least three people have been killed and 20 others injured after Lisbon's famous Gloria funicular cable railway derailed and crashed, emergency services said.

In an earlier statement, the head of Portugal's Civil Protection Authority said that several people remained trapped at the scene and two people were in a serious condition.

Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.

The incident happened near the Avenida da Liberdade around 18:05 on Wednesday evening.

Footage shared widely on social media showed the yellow funicular overturned and almost entirely destroyed.

People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as what appears to be smoke smoke filled the air.

The Gloria Funicular is one of the most famous sights and tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.

Six people have been charged with terrorism offences relating to encouraging support for banned group Palestine Action, the Metropolitan Police said.

The charges relate to public gatherings held in London, Manchester and Cardiff that took place over the summer, as well as a planned demonstration this weekend in London.

The group were charged on Wednesday as part of an investigation being led by the Met's Counter Terrorism Command.

It comes ahead of a planned protest on Saturday where organisers have said they are expecting more than 1,000 people to attend a rally near Parliament.

• Met charge 47 more over alleged support for Palestine Action

The offences relate to allegedly arranging public demonstrations as well as managing 13 Zoom meetings, between July and August in support of the proscribed group.

All six were previously arrested on Tuesday at various locations in London, Cumbria and South Yorkshire. They are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Another man was also charged on Tuesday as part of a connected investigation being led by Police Scotland.

Det Ch Supt Helen Flanagan said the charges had come about as a result of a "proactive investigation" into suspected activity linked to Palestine Action.

She added there are "potentially serious consequences" for those who are found guilty of an offence under the Terrorism Act.

"Palestine Action is clearly proscribed as a terrorist group, and those showing support for this particular group, or encouraging others to do so can expect to be arrested, investigated and prosecuted," she said.

On Tuesday, Campaign group Defend Our Juries said the arrests of its spokespeople were "scandalous" but said it still expected more than 1,000 people to attend the demonstration on Saturday where they would hold signs signs declaring "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action".

More than 700 people have been arrested by the Met since Palestine Action's proscription on 5 July.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper banned the group under terrorism laws after paint was daubed on jets at RAF Brize Norton. Police said the act caused £7m of damage.

Lawyers for the group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, have argued that the ban breaches the right to free speech and has gagged legitimate protest.

The government says the ban is justified because it narrowly targets a group that was organising serious criminality.

Membership or support for Palestine Action is now an offence that can lead to up to 14 years in prison.

Last month, the group won permission to challenge the ban, with the case to be heard at the High Court in November.

The judge refused an appeal to temporarily lift the ban and it remains proscribed before a full review at the High Court in November.

The day they appeared he could hardly believe his eyes. Small boat after small boat bearing in from the Turkish side. "I have so many memories that are coming back to me now," says Paris Louamis, 50, a hotelier on the Greek island of Lesbos. "There were people from Syria, Afghanistan, many countries."

This was August 2015 and Europe was witnessing the greatest movement in population since the end of the Second World War. More than a million people would arrive in the EU over the next few months driven by violence in Syria, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere.

I witnessed the arrivals on Lesbos and met Paris Laoumis as he was busy helping exhausted asylum seekers near his hotel. "I am proud of what we did back then," he tells me. Along with international volunteers he provided food and clothing to those arriving.

Today the beach is quiet. There are no asylum seekers. But Paris is worried. He believes another crisis is possible. With the number of arrivals rising over the summer months, his country's migration minister has warned of the risk of an "invasion", with thousands arriving from countries such as Sudan, Egypt, Bangladesh and Yemen.

"Of course I worry. I can see the suffering of the people. They are not coming here but we see it on Crete (Greece's largest island) where people have come. So it is possible that with the wars more people will come here."

In 2015 I followed as the asylum seekers boarded ferries, trudged in the heat along railway lines, through cornfields, down country lanes and along highways, making their way up through the Balkans and onwards to Germany and Scandinavia.

The numbers entering Germany jumped from 76,000 in July to 170,000 the following month. On the last day of August the Chancellor Angela Merkel declared 'wir schaffen das' - we can do it - interpreted by many as extending open arms to the asylum seekers.

"Germany is a strong country," she said. "The motive with which we approach these things must be: we have achieved so much – we can do it! We can do it, and where something stands in our way, it has to be overcome, it has to be worked on."

But the high emotions of that summer, when crowds welcomed asylum seekers along the roads north, seem to belong to a very different time.

That optimistic proclamation soon became a political liability for Mrs Merkel. Political opponents and some European leaders felt the words acted as a magnet for asylum seekers to the EU. Within a fortnight the Chancellor was forced to impose controls on Germany's borders due to the influx of asylum seekers.

And a decade on, concerns over migration have become a major political issue in many European countries. The causes are complex and vary from country to country, but concerns around security, struggling economies and disillusionment with governing parties have all had a major role in shaping attitudes towards those who arrive who are fleeing war, hunger and economic desperation.

It has fuelled the rise of far right parties and seen centre and even left wing parties scramble to impose controls on migration, fearing electoral defeat by populist right-wingers. Data from the Atlas Institute of International Affairs shows how support for far right parties in Europe nearly doubled over the term of two electoral cycles to 27.6%.

Since 2015, when the UNHCR says over a million people entered Europe on asylum routes, there has been a dramatic drop in arrivals. But since 2016, the average number of people entering Europe has still been around 200,000 people a year. So far this year a total of 96,200 asylum seekers have been recorded arriving. So can tough new controls really further bring down the numbers trying to come to Europe? Or does global conflict and economic desperation make their continuing flow inevitable, with ebbs and flows in the numbers?

Hungary's tough stance

In Hungary, the far right government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has taken one of the toughest approaches to migration. Back in September 2015, I was present when Hungary's first fence was erected along the border with Serbia, and witnessed hundreds of people scrambling to cross into the EU before they could be shut out.

In Budapest, this week I met the country's minister for the EU, János Bóka, who said Hungary's approach has been vindicated by the restrictive measures now being put forward in the UK - where the government plan to make it harder for refugees to bring family members to the UK - as well as countries like Ireland, Denmark and Sweden.

"We feel vindicated not only because of what's going on in other countries in Europe. This is of course also a sign that we took the right path 10 years ago, that now we see most of the countries are doing what we have been doing for the past 10 years."

Hungary immediately returns people who arrive at the border without permission to enter. They can only apply for asylum in the Serbian capital Belgrade, or in Kyiv in war battered Ukraine.

Human rights lawyer Timea Kovács says this effectively makes it impossible to enter the EU via Hungary. "Basically there is no legal way to enter the Hungarian territory as a refugee," she asserts.

As a result Hungary is being fined one million Euros per day for breaching its responsibilities to asylum seekers under EU law. EU minister Bóka says the country is not about to change its policy. "If it is the price that we pay for the protection of our borders and maintaining peace and stability in Hungary, this is a price worth paying."

But even such restrictive measures haven't managed to entirely halt the entry of asylum seekers.

Austrian police told the BBC that there were between 20 to 50 people detected every day trying to enter their country illegally from Hungary. This is just the figure for those detected.

On a trip to the border with Serbia I heard the frustration of one group of Hungarian guards. We left the tar road and followed a patrol onto a dirt track into the forest. The trees closed over forming a natural tunnel. Bright sunlight gave way to shadows. The men in the vehicle ahead of us carried shotguns.

'Just one big circus'

Dressed in military camouflage Sándor Nagy and Eric Molner are citizen volunteers, paid by the state to patrol the Hungarian side of the border with Serbia.

"I feel sad and angry, and most of all, worried about what is coming," says Sandor. He believes Europe is failing to stop people from coming across its borders. "To be honest, what we experience here is basically just one big circus. What we see is that border defence here is mostly a show, a political performance."

We emerge into a clearing where a 12ft high border fence appears, topped with barbed wire, equipped with sensors and cameras to detect illegal crossings.

"They simply cut through it, and groups rush in at several points at once—this has been the same for years." The problem, he argues, is with organised crime, which is constantly one step ahead of the authorities. "This fence does not stop anyone in the long run … It delays the flow, but cannot stop it."

A deluge of abuses

With the growth of criminal trafficking has come a deluge of human rights abuses, according to the United Nations. People traffickers dump people in the Sahara desert; others crowd them onto unsafe boats. Some of those who get through find themselves being forced back into the desert by local security forces.

More than 32,000 people have died trying to reach Europe in the past 10 years - including 1,300 dead or missing this year.

According to the UN's International Organisation of Migration "much of this is happening in a situation of near complete impunity".

The summer of 2015 was not only a summer of welcome. It prompted immediate changes in the approaches of several European states. Not just with the erection of the fence in Hungary but, among several examples, the deployment of riot police in Croatia, and migrants being detained in Slovenia.

By March 2016 - six months after Mrs Merkel's statement - the EU had reached agreement with Turkey to keep migrants from crossing into Greece and Bulgaria.

Since then the EU has done deals with countries including Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt to prevent their countries being used as launch points to Europe.

Now, there are numerous well documented cases of asylum seekers being pushed back across EU borders by police and coast guards. Last January the European Court of Human Rights found Greece guilty of illegal and "systematic" pushbacks of asylum seekers to Turkey.

Gerasimos Tsourapa, a professor of international relations at the University of Birmingham, describes the policy of outsourcing the asylum issue as a dramatic change for Europe. "The idea that migration can be leveraged for money or aid or other concessions, which was fairly exceptional for Europe in 2016, has now become a pattern.

"Migration diplomacy is contagious. Once the deal is struck then the logic spreads."

There is also a paradox here, he says. "We are restricting asylum, we're keeping borders closed, but we also need to find labour migrants to fill shortages and help our national economy."

A changing Sweden

Persistent public concern has seen a rise in support for far right parties across the EU, even in places like Sweden, which historically prided itself as a welcoming nation for those fleeing persecution. The far right Sweden Democrats won 20.5 percent of the vote in the 2022 general election - making them the country's second largest party. In return for supporting a minority coalition government they have seen much of their anti-migration platform shape government policy.

Family re-unification for migrants has been made more difficult, as have conditions for permanent residency, and asylum quotas have been substantially reduced.

For the final leg of my journey I went to the western Swedish city of Karlstad, a picture postcard place on the banks of the River Klarälven, the longest waterway in Scandinavia.

Syrian refugee, Abdulmenem Alsatouf, 44, remembered the welcome he received here in 2015.

That has changed, he says. "At the beginning people treated us very well. But after a few years — and after the government changed — things shifted. They became more racist." He cites incidents of racist abuse, including one neighbour leaving a toy pig outside this devoutly Muslim family's home.

I first met Abdulmenem and his family ten years ago as they were trying to reach Europe from Turkey. I remember their hope for a new life. Now his wife Nour says she would prefer to be in Syria. "They look at us as if we only came here to take their money or live off their aid. But that's not true. When I first arrived, I studied Swedish for two years, I learned the language, I finished school. Then I went to work — cleaning, kitchens, childcare. I pay taxes here, just like anyone else. I'm part of this society."

Why has Swedish public opinion shifted to the right on migration? One of the more frequently cited reasons in local media and by politicians is crime, specifically the rise of organised crime, with young perpetrators used to commit extreme violence. Since 2013 the rate of gun crime in the country has more than doubled.

People born abroad, and their children born in Sweden, are over-represented in crime statistics. But Sweden's foreign ministry warns against a simplistic analysis of figures. It says low levels of education, unemployment, social segregation and refugee's war trauma are all causes - not the fact of being a migrant.

Outside the local cultural museum, where he and his apprentice were busy painting the walls, I met Daniel Hessarp, 46, who is among the 60% of Swedes that opinion polls record as being concerned about crime. "We see the statistics of the crimes, who does it and such. So, there you have the answer. We didn't have this before in Sweden.

The apprentice, Theo Bergsten, 20, said he wasn't opposed to immigration because "you learn from, they learn from you…so it's really nice also." But he said the growth in crime was a "sad part" of the story.

Maria Moberg, a sociology lecturer at the University of Karlstad, says social media has allowed the far right's message to thrive and find new support among those who feel excluded from society.

"Sweden Democrats are very open with [us] - they don't want any asylum seekers. They actually want people to leave Sweden. And the whole government is sort of setting the agenda for being a hostile country. It's more acceptable now to not be welcoming."

Graves marked 'Unknown'

Back on Lesbos, I went to visit a place I have come to know over many years of reporting migration issues there. About 30 minutes drive from the Mytilene airport, in the middle of some olive groves, are the graves of asylum seekers who have died trying to reach here, or in the refugee camps set up after 2015. Numerous graves are simply marked 'Unknown', the last resting place of those who believed Europe would offer them a better life.

When I visited there were three fresh graves, and a fourth open waiting for a burial to take place. It is a sobering reminder that desperate people will keep trying to reach Europe, despite the enormous risks.

So far this year the numbers of asylum seekers detected trying to reach Europe is down by 20 percent. The numbers may surge and fall, but the global crises that drive migration are not going to disappear. That is the fundamental challenge for politicians, whatever party is in power.

Top image credit: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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One of Lisbon's most iconic tourist attractions, the Gloria funicular, derailed and crashed on Wednesday evening.

At least 15 people have been killed and 18 more injured, some critically, local authorities have said.

It is not yet clear what caused the carriage to derail.

Here's everything we know so far:

What have authorities said?

The crash occurred at around 18:05 on Wednesday, near Lisbon's Avenida da Liberdade, according to local authorities.

More than 60 emergency service personnel and 22 vehicles were deployed to the scene.

Officials said it was too early to determine the cause of the incident. However, Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.

Images and footage from the scene the showed an overturned yellow carriage, which appeared almost entirely destroyed.

People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as smoke engulfed the cobbled street.

• At least 15 dead after Lisbon's historic funicular derails

What do we know about the casualties?

Portugal's emergency medical service authority said at least 15 people have been been killed and 18 others injured.

Five of those injured were in a serious condition, it said. The remaining thirteen, which included a child, sustained minor injuries.

Lisbon's mayor, Carlos Moedas, said the victims had been taken to hospital.

Some of those killed were foreign nationals, authorities said.

Several people trapped at the scene have since been freed, the medical authority said.

Who was onboard?

The Gloria funicular can carry up to 43 passengers and is extremely popular with tourists.

It is not known how many people were onboard at the time of the collision, however.

What is the Gloria funicular and how does it work?

A funicular is a type of railway system that allows travel up and down steep slopes.

In Lisbon, funiculars are among the most sought after tourist attractions. The bright yellow vehicles are a crucial means of navigating the city's steep, cobbled streets.

The Gloria funicular - the railway on which the collision took place - was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.

It travels some 275m (900ft) from Restauradores, a square in the centre of Lisbon, up to the picturesque streets of Bairro Alto. The journey takes just three minutes to complete.

Unlike traditional funiculars, the two cars on the Gloria funicular are powered by electric motors.

They are attached to opposite ends of a haulage cable meaning that as one travels downhill, its weight lifts the other, allowing them to ascend and descend simultaneously.

'Lisbon is in mourning'

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas has declared three days of municipal mourning for the victims of the incident.

Posting on X, he said: "I extend my heartfelt condolences to all the families and friends of the victims. Lisbon is in mourning."

Spain's Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez said he was "appalled by the terrible accident".

"All our affection and solidarity with the families of the victims and with the Portuguese people in this difficult moment," he wrote in a statement on X.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he "deeply regrets" the "fatalities and serious injuries" caused by the crash.

In a statement, he expressed his "condolences and solidarity with the families affected by this tragedy" and hoped for clarity around the incident from authorities soon.

Pedro Bogas from Carris, the Lisbon Tramways Company, told reporters it was a "very a sad day, not just for the victims but also for their families".

"We have strict protocols, excellent professionals for many years, and we need to get to the bottom of what happened," he added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: "It is with sadness that I learned of the derailment of the famous Elevador da Glória. My condolences to the families of the victims."

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein gave emotional accounts of sexual abuse on Wednesday, as they spoke on the steps of the US Capitol and called for lawmakers to release more files about the convicted sex offender.

One of the women, Lisa Phillips, said the group had begun compiling a confidential list of Epstein associates who they say were involved in abuse

"We will confidentially compile the names we all know were regularly in the Epstein world," she said. "It will be done by survivors, and for survivors."

The event was organised by US lawmakers who are calling for more files from the Epstein investigation to be released publicly.

During the two-hour news conference, nine female Epstein accusers detailed their experiences and abuse at the hands of the disgraced financier.

Ms Phillips urged the Department of Justice to release all the documents and information it has from the investigation, adding that many victims were afraid of repercussions if they went public with names themselves.

A lawyer for the accusers added that they are scared of being sued or attacked because "nobody protected them the first time".

Marina Lacerda, speaking publicly for the first time, said she worked for Epstein from the age of 14 until she was 17, when the disgraced financier determined she was "too old".

"I was one of dozens of girls that I personally know who were forced into Jeffrey's mansion... in New York City when we were just kids," she said.

"A friend of mine in the neighbourhood told me that I could make $300 to give another guy a massage," Lacerda said, while becoming visibly emotional. "It went from a dream job to the worst nightmare."

Annie Farmer, who is now 46, said she was taken to New Mexico aged 16 to spend a weekend with Epstein. Her sister was also flown there and reported the abuse, she said, but nothing was done.

"We still do not know why that report wasn't properly investigated, or why Epstein and his associates were allowed to harm hundreds, if not thousands, of other girls and young women," she said.

Chauntae Davies addressed a question about the relationship between Trump and Epstein, saying the sex offender's "biggest brag forever was that he was very good friends with Donald Trump".

"He had a framed picture of him on his desk, with the two of them," she said.

Trump was a friend of Epstein, but said they fell out in the early 2000s because the financier poached employees from the spa in Trump's Florida golf club.

"This is a Democrat hoax that never ends," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday when asked about the nearby news conference.

He said "nobody is ever satisfied" with the files that have been released, adding that the call for more releases is a distraction from his record in office.

"Really I think it's enough," Trump said.

On Tuesday evening, 33,000 pages and several videos were made public by the House Oversight Committee, which has subpoenaed the Justice Department and Epstein estate. Most of those, however, were already in the public domain.

The top Democrat on the committee, Robert Garcia, said: "Don't let this fool you".

"After careful review, Oversight Democrats have found that 97% of the documents received from the Department of Justice were already public. There is no mention of any client list or anything that improves transparency or justice for victims," he said.

It is believed that the Department of Justice has about 100,000 pages of material on Epstein.

The release on Tuesday followed last month's publication of the US Department of Justice interview with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was an accomplice of Epstein.

In the transcripts - which run to 300 pages, some heavily redacted - Maxwell said that while she believed Trump and Epstein were friendly "in social settings", she didn't think they were close friends.

Two members of the House, Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democrat Ro Khanna of California, are trying to force a vote on compelling the justice department to release all documents in the case.

They were gathering signatures on Wednesday, with dozens of representatives agreeing to back the move. They will need 218 signatures to force a vote, meaning two Republicans would need to support it.

"It's shameful this has been called a hoax. This is not a hoax," Massie said. "There are real victims to this criminal enterprise and the perpetrators are being protected because they are rich and powerful."

The White House and Republican congressional leaders oppose the release of all of the files, saying that it could expose the identities of victims who do not want to go public.

A strike carried out by US forces on a boat in the Caribbean Sea - which the White House says killed 11 drug traffickers - may have violated international human rights and maritime law, legal experts have told BBC Verify.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that US forces destroyed a vessel which he said had departed from Venezuela. He said the boat was operated by the Tren de Aragua cartel and was carrying drugs bound for the US.

US defence officials have so far declined to offer details on the strike, footage of which Trump shared on Truth Social, including what legal authority they relied upon to justify it.

BBC Verify reached out to a range of experts in international and maritime law, with several saying that US may have acted illegally in attacking the vessel.

The US is not a signatory to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but the US military's legal advisors have previously said that the US should "act in a manner consistent with its provisions".

Under the convention, countries agree not to interfere with vessels operating in international waters. There are limited exceptions to this which allow a state to seize a ship, such as a "hot pursuit" where a vessel is chased from a country's waters into the high seas.

"Force can be used to stop a boat but generally this should be non-lethal measures," Prof Luke Moffett of Queens University Belfast said.

But he added that the use of aggressive tactics must be "reasonable and necessary in self-defence where there is immediate threat of serious injury or loss of life to enforcement officials", noting that the US moves were likely "unlawful under the law of the sea".

Are US strikes on alleged cartel members legal?

Experts have also questioned whether the killing of the alleged members of the Tren de Aragua cartel could contravene international law on the use of force.

Under Article 2(4) of the UN charter, countries can resort to force when under attack and deploying their military in self-defence. Trump has previously accused the Tren de Aragua cartel of conducting irregular warfare against the US, and the state department has designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation.

But Prof Michael Becker of Trinity College Dublin told BBC Verify that the US actions "stretches the meaning of the term beyond its breaking point".

"The fact that US officials describe the individuals killed by the US strike as narco-terrorists does not transform them into lawful military targets," he said. "The US is not engaged in an armed conflict with Venezuela or the Tren de Aragua criminal organization."

"Not only does the strike appear to have violated the prohibition on the use of force, it also runs afoul of the right to life under international human rights law."

Prof Moffett said that the use of force in this case could amount to an "extrajudicial arbitrary killing" and "a fundamental violation of human rights".

"Labelling everyone a terrorist does not make them a lawful target and enables states to side-step international law," he said.

Notre Dame Law School Professor Mary Ellen O'Connell told BBC Verify that the strike "violated fundamental principles of international law", adding: "Intentional killing outside armed conflict hostilities is unlawful unless it is to save a life immediately."

"Sometimes armed groups waging war against governments deal in drugs to pay for their participation in conflict. There is no evidence the gang President Trump targeted is such a group."

But US officials have been quick to defend the strike. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham wrote on X that the strike was the "ultimate - and most welcome - sign that we have a new sheriff in town".

His fellow Republican senator, Bernie Moreno from Ohio, wrote: "Sinking this boat saved American lives. To the narco traffickers and the narco dictators, you'll eventually get the same treatment."

A White House official told BBC Verify that Trump had authorised the strike on the boat, which they said was crewed by Tren de Aragua members, after it left Venezuela. The official added that the president was committed to using all means to prevent drugs reaching the US.

The Pentagon declined to offer further comment or share the legal advice it obtained before carrying out the strike.

Can Trump launch attacks without Congressional approval?

Questions have also been raised as to whether the White House complied with US law in authorising the strike. The US constitution says that only Congress has the power to declare war.

However, Article II - which lays out the president's powers - says that "the president shall be Commander in Chief of the Army" and some constitutional experts have suggested that this grants the president the power to authorise strikes against military targets. Trump administration sources have previously cited this provision when defending US strikes on Iran.

But it is unclear whether that provision extends to the use of force against non-state actors such as drug cartels.

• Trump says 11 killed in US strike on drug-carrying vessel from Venezuela
• US offers $50m reward for arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro
• Venezuela's ex-spy chief pleads guilty to narco-terrorism charges

Rumen Cholakov, an expert in US constiutional law at King's College London told BBC Verify that since 9/11, US presidents have relied on the 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force Act (AUMF) when carrying out strikes against groups responsible for the attacks.

"Its scope has been expanded consistently in subsequent administrations," he added. "It is not immediately obvious that drug cartels such as Tren de Aragua would be within the President's AUMF powers, but that might be what "narco-terrorists" is hinting at."

Questions also remain as to whether Trump complied with the War Powers Resolution, which demands that the president "in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities".

How did the US conduct the strike?

It is unclear what method the US used to launch the attack. Trump did not offer details in his news conference in the Oval Office and the Department of Defense has failed to offer further information.

In Venezuela President Maduro has yet to respond to the US strikes, but his Communications Minister Freddy Ñáñez has suggested that the footage released by the White House may have been generated using AI. In a post to X, he suggested that water in the video "looks very stylized and unnatural".

BBC Verify has run the clip through SynthID - Google's AI detection software - and found no evidence that the footage is fake.

The strikes come amid reports that the US has deployed several naval warships to the region in support of anti-narcotics operations against Venezuela.

We've not been able to track all of these vessels. But using information from publicly-available onboard trackers, and videos on social media, we've potentially identified four of them in the region.

A ship identifying itself as the USS Lake Erie - a guided missile cruiser - last transmitted its location in the Caribbean Sea on 30 August, east of the Panama Canal on 30 August.

Two others identifying themselves as the USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham last transmitted their locations in mid-August, at the American base in Guantanamo Bay. A fourth, the USS Fort Lauderdale, transmitted its location north of the Dominican Republic on 28 August.

Trump - who has long sought to oust Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro - has authorised a US$50m reward for any information leading to his arrest. The Venezuelan leader claimed victory in last year's elections, widely viewed as rigged by international observers.

Additional reporting by Lucy Gilder.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is at risk of a fine from the tax authorities in addition to having to pay an additional £40,000 in underpaid stamp duty, tax experts have said.

Rayner, who is also the minister in charge of housing, has admitted she paid less in stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex, than she should have done, claiming she was badly advised.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can levy penalties when tax has been underpaid if someone has been "careless" with their tax affairs.

Any penalty for Rayner, which is typically 20% or 30% of the underpaid tax, could hinge on whether she took appropriate legal advice.

Rayner has said she was misinformed by lawyers, but questions have been raised about whether she sought specialist tax advice.

Even if she did, she could still face a fine likely to be 30% of the underpaid tax, meaning an additional £12,000.

"Someone has made a big mistake. Whether it's the law firm acting for her on the purchase, or whether it is her," said Sean Randall, an independent stamp duty expert.

He said she was at "significant risk" of a penalty because blaming an adviser may not be a sufficient defence.

"She might say I relied on my tax advisers to advise me correctly. And I definitely sympathise with that [but] usually simply relying on your adviser is not a defence for a penalty of carelessness," Randall added.

What we know

The dispute centres around a three-bedroom flat in Hove, East Sussex which Angela Rayner bought for £800,000 in May this year.

When she bought the flat, she declared that it was the only property she owned, meaning £30,000 of stamp duty was paid, rather than the £70,000 due if it is a second home.

She claimed it was the only home she owned because she had previously given up her stake in the family home in her constituency in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

Rayner had bought that property with her then-husband, Mark Rayner, in 2016.

As she outlined in a statement, in 2020 a trust was set up under the instructions of a court to manage a payout for a medical incident which had left their son with life-long disabilities.

In 2023, when her divorce from Mark was finalised, the pair elected to place part of their stakes in the home into their son's trust, for which they are among the trustees.

This was to enable a "nesting" arrangement, meaning the children could remain in the family home while the parents alternated living there.

Rayner sold her remaining 25% stake in the home to her son's trust in January this year, for which she received £162,500.

The trust had been set up by Shoosmiths, a major law firm which offers advice on many areas of law including tax and property.

But when she purchased the flat in Hove , she sought legal advice from a different, unidentified firm.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Shoosmiths told BBC News that they "did not act for the Rt Hon Angela Rayner in relation to the purchase of her Hove property and/or the [stamp duty] aspects of that property.

"Ms Rayner is not a current client of the firm and has not been for some time."

Rayner's team have not provided details of the law firm she used instead, and it is not clear if this was a conveyancing lawyer who specialises in property transactions or more specialist tax advice.

Rayner said that when she bought the Hove flat, "my understanding, on advice from lawyers, was that my circumstances meant I was liable for the standard rate of stamp duty".

This was because she had no financial stake in the Ashton home, even though her children remained there and she considered it her main residence. She also spends time at a government-provided flat in Admiralty Arch, central London.

However, this legal advice was wrong. This is because under tax law, if a property has been placed into trust for the benefit of children under 18, the parents of those children are deemed to be owners of the home for stamp duty purposes.

"If you have a trust in favour of your children, then it's treated as your property," said Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates and a member of the Labour Party.

"We're talking about a deeming rule which deems a person, in this case Angela, to own a property in the stamp duty world…in circumstances [where] she doesn't own it at all in the real world," Randall added.

Unanswered questions

The question of what legal advice Rayner took when she bought the Hove property is crucial.

If it was simply a conveyancing lawyer with no tax expertise it is likely to be much harder for her to argue that she hasn't been negligent - and to avoid harsh penalties levied by the taxman.

"My suspicion in this case…is that she didn't give all the circumstances of the trust to the conveyancing lawyer," said James Quarmby, head of private wealth at Stephenson Harwood.

"The conveyancing lawyer may have just asked the bland question 'do you own any other properties?' And she says 'no'".

He said property lawyers typically state in their contracts that they don't provide tax advice.

Quarmby said he believed there was a "high" risk of Rayner being fined and that tax officials would want to see the advice she relied on and details of the instructions she had given her lawyer

"Relying on advice is not a complete defence - it must be reasonable to do so in the circumstances and that advice cannot be 'obviously wrong'," he said.

"Someone in the Revenue now with the whole glare of the UK's media on them is going to make a decision as to whether Rayner was careless," he said.

"If she gets a penalty for carelessness she is politically screwed".

Another key question - if the legal advice sought was from a conveyancer - is whether Rayner even mentioned her son's trust and the role it played in the ownership of her family home.

A spokesman for Rayner declined to answer these questions.

"If you're buying property and you have complicated affairs involving a trust, you need to speak to a tax adviser and tell them about the trust," Neidle said.

"If she did that and they got it wrong, {it is} not her fault. But if she didn't go to a specialist or didn't tell them about the trust, I think it was her fault," he added.

"I think a normal person with any sophistication would realise they should mention the trust when getting advice about something else. And a deputy prime minister who's already got into a previous tax scrape involving properties, surely should have a go."

He said this would also affect how HMRC levied penalties on the underpaid tax.

Rayner now faces an inquiry by the standards watchdog.

She has previously been critical of tax avoidance and also called former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi's position "untenable" when details emerged that he was in dispute with HMRC over his tax affairs.

Zahawi, who was forced to resign as Tory party chairman for failing to declare that he paid a settlement to HMRC, ended up paying £5m to settle the dispute - a sum which included a 30 per cent penalty for being "careless".

A similar verdict on Rayner's conduct from Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent ethics adviser, or from the tax authorities may prove politically fatal.

At least three people have been killed and 20 others injured after Lisbon's famous Gloria funicular cable railway derailed and crashed, emergency services said.

In an earlier statement, the head of Portugal's Civil Protection Authority said that several people remained trapped at the scene and two people were in a serious condition.

Portuguese newspaper Observador reported that a cable came loose along the railway's route, causing it to lose control and collide with a nearby building.

The incident happened near the Avenida da Liberdade around 18:05 on Wednesday evening.

Footage shared widely on social media showed the yellow funicular overturned and almost entirely destroyed.

People could be seen fleeing the area on foot as what appears to be smoke smoke filled the air.

The Gloria Funicular is one of the most famous sights and tourist attractions in Lisbon. It was opened in 1885 and electrified three decades later.

It is going to be a long 12 weeks, critical to the chancellor, the government and the nation's economy.

Rachel Reeves chose to talk to me at a Birmingham housebuilding development to launch the Budget process as she tried her hand at some bricklaying.

However, the obligatory hard hat might come in rather handy away from the site as the chancellor wanted to get across that the point of her Budget would not just be to "raise enough money" for public services - which is code for tax rises.

She wants to be known as a reforming chancellor who made much-needed structural reforms to how the tax system operates, in a bid to boost economic productivity and growth to improve living standards.

First and foremost, that requires a reassertion that she is in charge of this process.

"I will make the decisions," she said, "in lockstep" with Number 10.

• Reeves dismisses £50bn 'black hole' in UK finances

That statement is in a week of economist transfers where the Treasury has become something of a feeder club to Number 10.

Off the junior ministers' bench has been Darren Jones, Reeves' former deputy, who has taken up a newly-created role as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Football analogies aside, the immediate challenge facing Reeves is the size of the gap in the public finances.

The chancellor chose to dismiss the suggestion of a "£50bn black hole", and talk of a need for a visit to the International Monetary Fund to request a bailout.

She also savaged some of the Budget speculation over tax rises on property, banks and pensions as not just "wrong" but "irresponsible".

The Treasury says it has not been flying kites over the summer.

I also put to her the very interesting words of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in July, on levelling with the public that "promises made are constantly not kept" on tax and spending.

There was the mildest air of annoyance with the forecaster whose analyses are so critical to the Budget process.

"The OBR have got an important job to do and their job is to produce four forecasts on the economy - not to give a running commentary on government policy," she replied.

While the chancellor has been a massive supporter of the OBR, granting it more independence, this nerdy point could reflect some looming tension over its assessment of her economic policies.

Expect some considerable haggling with the OBR from the freshly recruited array of high-powered Downing Street economists.

Reeves will stick to her fiscal rules around borrowing, she says.

But there will be pressure from her backbenchers to fudge them.

What spending reductions could be on the cards? Well, the chancellor did not rule out welfare cuts, even after the remarkable U-turn on disability benefits in July.

She may also be a hostage to fortune in the promise that the Budget will help bring inflation, currently at 3.8%, down.

Many typical measures aimed to raise revenue push it up, and that was the experience last year.

Even as she was asserting control over this crucial Budget process, the bond markets reminded her that they can be just as powerful.

She may well find the message useful in managing her own internal scrappy politics.

It's going to be a rough ride to 26 November.

The daughter of a Nazi fugitive is under house arrest after a search of her property failed to find a long-lost stolen painting.

Prosecutors say the looted artwork was no longer at the house, but raids at other properties linked to the family have turned up other pieces that may have been stolen during the war.

Portrait of a Lady, by Italian master Giuseppe Ghislandi, had been missing for 80 years before it was spotted last month on an estate agent's website, where a photo showed it hanging in a house that had belonged to Patricia Kadgien's late father, Friedrich Kadgien.

Kadgien senior was a top adviser to Hermann Goring, who plundered thousands of works from across Nazi-occupied Europe.

• The masterpieces stolen by the Nazis
• Tate Britain to return painting looted by Nazis

Patricia Kadgien and her husband were ordered to remain under house arrest for three days starting Monday, local media reported. They will be questioned for obstructing the investigation to locate the painting, according to a judicial official quoted in local media.

The pair are expected to face a hearing on Thursday, where they will likely be charged with "concealment of theft in the context of genocide", the official added.

The couple insist they are the rightful owners of the artwork, which they had inherited, according to Argentina's La Nacion newspaper.

The lawyer for Kadgien's daughter, Carlos Murias, told local newspaper La Capital that the pair would cooperate with the authorities. However, prosecutors on Tuesday said the artwork had not yet been handed over.

Four other properties were searched in the hunt for the painting, the prosecutor's office said.

During these searches, two paintings and a series of drawings and engravings from the 19th Century were found at the home of Ms Kadgien's sister, La Capital reported, and will be analysed to determine if they are items stolen during the war.

The painting first spotted online, Portrait of a Lady, was among the collection of Amsterdam art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, much of which was forcibly sold by the Nazis after his death. It is listed on a database of art stolen by the Nazis.

Peter Schouten of the Dutch Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper, which broke the initial story about the long-lost artwork's reappearance, said there was evidence "the painting was removed shortly afterwards or after the media reports about it appeared".

"There's now a large rug with horses and some nature scenes hanging there, which police say looks like something else used to hang there."

Following the photo's appearance, one of the sisters told the Dutch paper she didn't know what they wanted from her, nor what painting they "are talking about".

Lawyers for Goudstikker's estate said they would make every effort to reclaim the painting.

Some of the works owned by Goudstikker were recovered in Germany after the war, and put on display in Amsterdam as part of the Dutch national collection.

His sole-surviving heir, daughter-in-law Marei von Saher, said her family "aims to bring back every single artwork robbed from Jacques' collection, and to restore his legacy".

According to AD, she took possession of 202 pieces in 2006.

Israeli forces are intensifying their attacks on the outskirts of Gaza City, residents say, as the military steps up preparations for a ground offensive to conquer it.

Hospitals said women and children were among more than 30 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in the city on Wednesday, most of them in the north and west.

The Israeli military's chief of staff vowed to "continue striking Hamas's centres of gravity until it is defeated" and its hostages freed.

The UN and aid groups said the Israeli operations were already having "horrific humanitarian consequences" for displaced families sheltering in the city, which is home to a million people and where a famine was declared last month.

Meanwhile, Israeli protesters took part in what they called a "day of disruption" to press their government to immediately agree a deal that would end the war in return for the release of all 48 Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Hospital officials said Israeli strikes and gunfire across the Gaza Strip had killed at least 46 people since midnight.

Gaza City's Shifa hospital said it had received the bodies of 21 people, including five killed when an Israeli warplane targeted an apartment in the western Fisherman's Port area.

One of the strikes killed the parents and two sisters of three-year-old Ibrahim al-Mabhuh, his grandmother said.

Umm Abu al-Abed Abu al-Jubein told Reuters news agency that she had found him buried underneath the rubble of a destroyed column in the home where the displaced family from the nearby town of Jabalia had been sheltering.

"He is the only one that God saved... We woke up to the boy screaming," she said.

First responders said Israeli drones also dropped incendiary bombs in the vicinity of a clinic overnight in the northern Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, where troops and tanks were reportedly advancing.

Videos posted on social media overnight appeared to a fire next to an ambulance inside the Sheikh Radwan Clinic's compound, and another ambulance ablaze on a nearby street.

Residents also told Reuters that Israeli forces dropped grenades on three schools in Sheikh Radwan being used as shelters for displaced families, setting tents ablaze, and detonated armoured vehicles laden with explosives to destroy homes in the east of the neighbourhood.

"Sheikh Radwan is being burnt upside-down. The occupation [Israel] destroyed houses, burnt tents, and drones played audio messages ordering people to leave the area," said Zakeya Sami, a 60-year-old mother of five.

The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

During a visit to Gaza on Wednesday, the military's Chief of Staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, told troops: "We have entered the second phase of Operation 'Gideon's Chariots' to fulfil the objectives of the war."

"Returning our hostages is both a moral and national mission. We will continue striking Hamas's centres of gravity until it is defeated."

Hamas denounced what it called the "operations of systematic destruction" by Israeli forces in Gaza City, saying they constituted "an unprecedented violation" of international law.

UN agencies and their humanitarian partners in the Gaza Site Management Cluster said the announcement of intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza City on 7 August was "having horrific humanitarian consequences for people in displacement sites, many of whom were earlier displaced from North Gaza [governorate]", which includes Jabalia.

They warned that many households were unable to move due to high costs and logistical challenges, as well as a lack of safe space. And they said forcing hundreds of thousands to move south could amount to forcible transfer under international law.

Since 14 August, more than 82,000 people had been newly displaced, according to the cluster. Most people moved towards the crowded coast. Only a third have left for southern Gaza, as the Israeli military has instructed.

The military has told them to head to the al-Mawasi area, saying medical care, water and food will be provided. However, the UN has the tent camps there are overcrowded and unsafe, and that southern hospitals are operating at several times their capacity.

On Tuesday, five children were killed while queuing for water at a tent camp in al-Mawasi. Witnesses said they were struck by an Israeli drone.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel's intention to conquer all of Gaza after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal broke down in July.

The hostages' families fear the offensive will endanger those held in Gaza City and want the prime minister to instead negotiate an agreement that would secure their release.

Regional mediators have presented a proposal that would see 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages released during a 60-day truce. However, Netanyahu has said he will only accept a comprehensive deal that would see them all freed and Hamas disarmed.

On Wednesday, Israelis demanding an immediate deal set fire to tyres and rubbish bins and damaged parked cars in Jerusalem.

Thirteen were arrested after they climbed on the roof of the National Library and displayed a banner that said: "You have abandoned and also killed."

Some hostages' relatives addressed a large crowd near the prime minister's residence.

They included Ofir Braslavski, the father of Rom Braslavski, 21, who was seen emaciated and injured in a video sent by his Islamic Jihad captors in early August.

"My son Rom is dying, starving, and tortured. You can see in his eyes that he no longer wants to live. There is nothing harder a father can witness when he cannot do anything," he said, according to the Haaretz newspaper.

"How is it possible that a month after my son's video was released, showing the horrors there, the government leaves him there? And the prime minister wants to conquer more territory? I can't understand that."

US President Donald Trump, who helped broker the previous ceasefire and hostage release deal in January, wrote on social media: "Tell Hamas to IMMEDIATELY give back all 20 Hostages (Not 2 or 5 or 7!), and things will change rapidly. IT WILL END!"

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 63,746 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry also says 367 people, have so far died during the war as a result of malnutrition and starvation, including six over the past 24 hours.

Angela Rayner has admitted she should have paid more tax when she bought her flat in Hove, blaming inaccurate legal advice she received beforehand.

The deputy prime minister said she paid the standard rate of stamp duty on the East Sussex property on the basis it was her only home.

But she said she received further advice, that she should have in fact paid a higher rate, due to arrangements set up for her family home in Greater Manchester.

She denied she had tried to dodge tax, and said she had referred herself for investigation by the prime minister's ethics adviser.

Rayner has faced mounting Tory criticism over her tax situation after continued media scrutiny in recent weeks.

Recording a clip with reporters, she said she had been prevented from sharing more details of her "complex" living arrangements because of a court order that has since been lifted, after she applied to have it removed.

She added that she had contacted HMRC to say she owed additional tax on the property, which she is "prepared to pay".

The Daily Telegraph has previously reported she saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the purchase because she had not paid the higher rate on the £800,000 flat.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been overheard discussing organ transplants as a means of prolonging life on the sidelines of a military parade in Beijing.

Putin suggested even eternal life could be achievable as a result of innovations in biotechnology, according to a translation of remarks caught on a hot mic.

The unguarded moment was captured on a livestream carried by Chinese state TV as the two leaders and North Korea's Kim Jong Un walked together through China's historic Tiananmen Square.

Xi and Putin have been in power for 13 and 25 years respectively. Neither has expressed any intention of stepping down.

Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the North Korean and Russian leaders, China's president used his Victory Day spectacle to project an alternate vision for the future of the world order.

However their private conversation suggests their sights extend beyond the economic and political.

The exchange was relayed by a Mandarin translator for Putin and a Russian translator for Xi, and has been translated into English by the BBC.

"In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days they say that at 70 one's still a child," Xi's translator could be heard saying in Russian.

An inaudible passage from Putin follows. His Mandarin translator then added: "With the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, and people can live younger and younger, and even achieve immortality."

Xi's translator then said: "Predictions are, this century, there's a chance of also living to 150 [years old]."

Putin reportedly reprised his remarks later while speaking to Russian media.

Russian state news agency Tass quoted him as saying: "Modern recovery methods, medical methods, even surgical ones dealing with the replacement of organs, enable humanity to hope for active life to last longer than it does today.

"Average age is different in different countries but life expectancy will increase significantly".

• Parade shows Xi as global leader, with military to rival US
• BBC correspondents react to China's military parade
• Watch: Key moments from China's big show of strength
• What new weapons on show say about China's military strength
• North Korea's Kim arrives in Beijing with daughter
• Trump accuses Xi of conspiring against US with Putin and Kim

Xi said the world faced a choice between peace and war as China unveiled a huge arsenal of weapons - including nuclear missiles with a global reach - to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

Wednesday's parade marked the first time that the Chinese, Russian and North Korean leaders had appeared together publicly, viewed by some observers as a message to the Western nations that have shunned them.

Putin and Kim joined 24 other dignitaries at the parade, including Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif, Vietnam's Luong Cuong and Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa.

China has sought to position itself as a possible counterweight to the US since the imposition of Donald Trump's tariffs.

On Wednesday, the US president accused Xi of conspiring against the US with the leaders of Russia and North Korea.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America."

A group of young English-speaking hackers are claiming to be behind the cyber attack which has halted the global production lines of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

The group is bragging about the hack on the messaging app Telegram, sharing screenshots apparently taken from inside the car maker's IT networks.

The gangs is also responsible for a wave of cyber attacks on UK retailers including M&S in the spring - and are calling themselves "Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters".

"Where is my new car, Land Rover," the hackers - who are thought to be teens - posted to taunt the company.

The BBC has approached JLR for comment.

In private text conversations with one of the criminals, who claims to be the spokesperson for the group, they said they are trying to extort the car company for money.

But the hacker would not say if they have successfully stolen private data from JLR or installed malicious software onto the company's network.

The hacker wouldn't provide any more evidence they are responsible for the hack - and they are known to lie to get attention.

But two images posted by the group show apparent internal instructions for troubleshooting a car charging issue and internal computer logs.

One security expert has speculated the screenshots suggest the criminals have access to information they should not have.

"Based on the information provided by the attackers and open source intelligence, the attack has access to JLR's internal systems and network," security researcher Kevin Beaumont said.

A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner's Office said: "Jaguar Land Rover has reported an incident and we are assessing the information provided."

'Took immediate action'

Car production at sites including the Halewood plant in Merseyside and another in Solihull have been heavily disrupted since the attack was discovered on Sunday.

Staff have been sent home and JLR has said it's working to get manufacturing back online.

The company has not disclosed the nature of the attack.

"We took immediate action to mitigate its impact by proactively shutting down our systems, it said in a statement.

"We are now working at pace to restart our global applications in a controlled manner.

"At this stage there is no evidence any customer data has been stolen but our retail and production activities have been severely disrupted."

The hackers chose the name Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters to reflect the merging of various youth-orientated cyber criminals who are all associated with a network called The Com.

Earlier this year the National Crime Agency warned of the growing threat from cyber criminals in The Com.

The newly named group is a mixture of hackers who have been part of the groups Shiny Hunters, Lapsus$ and Scattered Spider - all notorious young hacking groups of the last few years that emerged from The Com.

The Telegram channel used by the criminals now has nearly 52,000 subscribers. The group has been bragging about hacks and sharing incomprehensible in-jokes for days.

It's the forth such Telegram channel as previous ones have been closed down.

Scattered Spider is name of a loosely linked group of hackers responsible for high profile attacks on M&S, Co-op and Harrods in April and May.

In July the National Crime Agency arrested 4 people in connection to the hacks.

A 20-year-old woman was arrested in Staffordshire, and three males - aged between 17 and 19 - were detained in London and the West Midlands. All have since been released on bail.

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A woman dubbed the "Ketamine Queen" has pleaded guilty to selling the drugs that ultimately killed Friends actor Matthew Perry.

Jasveen Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty to five charges in Los Angeles on Wednesday, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury.

The American-British dual-national originally faced nine criminal counts. Federal prosecutors called her Los Angeles home a "drug-selling emporium" and found dozens of vials of ketamine during a raid.

Perry was found dead in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home in October 2023, with an examination finding his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine.

A sentencing hearing for Sangha, who is being held in federal custody, has been set for 10 December in Los Angeles.

Sangha initially denied the charges but agreed to change her plea in August, just weeks before she had been due to stand trial.

She is one of five people - including medical doctors and the actor's assistant - who US officials say supplied ketamine to Perry, exploiting his drug addiction for profit, and leading to his overdose death.

They include: Dr Salvador Plasencia and Dr Mark Chavez, two doctors who sold ketamine; Kenneth Iwamasa, who worked as Perry's live-in assistant and both helped purchase and inject the actor with ketamine; and Eric Fleming, who sold ketamine he'd gotten from Sangha to Perry.

The four others have also agreed to plead guilty to charges in the case. They will be sentenced at different times in November and December.

Sangha faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison, according to the justice department.

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It can distort perception of sight and sound and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control.

It is used as an injectable anaesthetic for humans and animals because it makes patients feel detached from their pain and environment.

The substance is supposed to be administered only by a physician, officials say, and patients who have taken the drug should be monitored by a professional because of its possible harmful effects.

Perry's death and the investigation into how he obtained so much of the drug over multiple years offered a glimpse into Hollywood's ketamine drug network, which one doctor called the "wild west" in an interview with the BBC.

As part of her plea agreement, Sangha also pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to a man named Cody McLaury in August 2019, who died hours after the purchase from a drug overdose, according to the justice department.

Federal authorities accused Sangha of supplying ketamine from her "stash house" in North Hollywood since at least 2019, alleging in an indictment that she worked with celebrities and high-end clients.

More than 80 vials of ketamine were found there in a search before her arrest in March 2024, along with thousands of pills that included methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax.

Sangha is said to have mixed with celebrities socially, with one of her friends telling the Daily Mail she attended the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Her social media presence depicted an extravagant lifestyle, including parties and trips to Japan and Mexico.

China has unveiled a range of new weapons, drones and other military hardware in a massive parade that many see as a clear message to the United States and its allies.

The event saw Xi Jinping host more than 20 foreign heads of state, including Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, both of whom rely on China for economic support and more.

It was a display of Xi's growing power on the world stage, and of China's military prowess - the show included the "Guam killer" missile, the "loyal wingman" drone and even robotic wolves.

Beyond the hype and shiny new weaponry, what did we learn?

Here are our five takeaways.

1. China has a lot of weapons. How well can it deploy them?

What was clear from Wednesday's display was that China has been able to quickly produce a diverse range of weapons.

Ten years ago, the military technology they put on show tended to be "rudimentary copies" of far more advanced equipment invented by the US, notes Michael Raska, assistant professor in the military transformations programme at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.

But this parade revealed a more innovative and diverse range of weapons, particularly drones and missiles - a reflection of how advanced their defence-industrial complex has become.

China's top-down structure and significant resources enable it to churn out new weapons faster than many other countries, points out Alexander Neill, an adjunct fellow with the Pacific Forum.

It can also produce them in huge quantities, giving it a battlefield advantage where it can overwhelm the enemy.

"China has the ability to churn out munitions, ships, all these platforms... the state can just make these directives and off they go," Mr Neill says.

But how well can China's military integrate these weapons systems?

"They can show off these flashy advanced platforms, but are they organisationally agile to use them in the way they want to?" Dr Raska asks.

He adds that it won't be easy because the Chinese military is massive and untested, given it has not been involved in a significant war for decades.

2. China is focusing on missiles to counter the US

China has rolled out plenty of missiles, including some new variants.

These include the Dongfeng-61, which is capable of carrying multiple warheads in its nosecone; the Dongfeng-5C intercontinental ballistic missile which could be launched from northern China and hit the US; and the "Guam Killer" Dongfeng-26D intermediate range missile, which could hit key US military bases in Guam.

There were also several hypersonic anti-ship missiles such as the YJ-17 and YJ-19, which can fly very fast and maneuver unpredictably to evade anti-missile systems.

There's a reason for this focus on missiles.

China has been developing missiles and rocket forces as a key part of its deterrence strategy - and to counter the US' naval superiority, Mr Neill says.

The US Navy is unrivalled in the world with the largest fleet of aircraft carriers and carrier strike groups - China still lags behind on that count.

But, Mr Neill points out, some in the Western defence community are increasingly arguing that these strike groups are vulnerable, as they are effectively "sitting ducks" for any missile attacks.

Beijing is not only strengthening deterrence, but is also creating a "second strike capability," he says - a country's ability to launch a retaliatory strike if attacked.

Other notable weapons included the much-talked about LY-1 laser weapon, which is basically a giant laser that could burn or disable electronics or even blind pilots; and an assortment of fifth-generation stealth fighter jets including the J-20 and J-35 planes.

3. China is going all the way with AI and drones

There were a wide range of drones, some of them AI-powered, but the one that grabbed eyeballs was the AJX-002 giant submarine drone.

Also known as an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV) measuring up to 20m (65ft) in length, it could possibly do surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

China also showed off its GJ-11 stealth attack drone, dubbed the "loyal wingman", which can fly alongside a manned fighter jet and aid it in its attacks.

Besides an array of conventional aerial drones, there were also "robotic wolves". Experts say these could be used for a variety of tasks from reconnaissance and sweeping for mines, to hunting down enemy soldiers.

The drone display shows a clear direction that China wants to take with its military strategy, where it "not only wants to augment, but replace traditional structures".

It has clearly taken lessons from the Ukraine war, where one can "just throw drones at the enemy" to wear down their defences, Dr Raska notes.

"Alacrity in the kill chain matters," adds Mr Neill, pointing out that in a fast-moving battle, decisions have to be made in "nanoseconds" to defeat the enemy and gain the upper hand – which is what AI can do.

Many countries are still concerned about deploying AI in their military systems and asking "how comfortable are we in putting AI in the kill chain", he adds.

But China is very comfortable with that, Dr Raska says. "They believe they can control AI. They are going all the way to integrate it into their systems."

4. China may have the technology, but the US still has an edge

The parade clearly shows that China is catching up quickly with the US in its military technology, and has the resources to build up a huge arsenal of weapons.

But the US still maintains an edge in terms of operations, experts say.

The US military "excels" because there is a "bottom-up" culture where units on the ground can make decisions as the situation evolves and alter their fighting strategies, Dr Raska notes. This makes them more agile in a battle.

China, on the other hand, is "top-down" where "they can have flashy platforms and systems but they will not move a finger until they receive an order from the top", he adds.

"The Chinese think its technology that creates deterrence. They believe that will deter the US... but at the operational level, there have been instances which show they may not be as good as they say they are", Dr Raska says, pointing to recent encounters such as an incident last month when a Chinese warship rammed one of its own smaller vessels as they confronted the Philippine coast guard.

5. The parade was a weapons sales pitch – and a chance to show the US a united front

With the leaders of more than two dozen countries invited to the event, the parade of weapons and tanks was essentially a giant sales pitch on Chinese arms to potential buyers, Mr Neill points out.

Some of the countries in attendance such as Myanmar are already known to be buying huge quantities of Chinese weapons. But the chance to sell to new customers or increase orders is how the Chinese government can extend its influence globally, Dr Raska notes.

Among the key clients were those standing front and centre with Xi – Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

The three presented a united front as they walked to the parade together and stood on stage.

That was a message to the US, Mr Neill says: if America wanted to really challenge them it would mean "fighting them on several potential theatres at the same time – the Korean peninsula, Taiwan Straits, and Ukraine".

"And if you consider it, putting pressure on the US on all three domains, it may fail in one of those theatres."

As the cannon fire echoed through Tiananmen Square, even before the first set of troops goose-stepped their way through Beijing's central avenue, the day's most enduring image unfolded.

China's President Xi Jinping welcomed North Korea's Kim Jong Un with a long handshake, then moved on to greet Russia's Vladimir Putin, and then walked to his seat, flanked by two of the world's most sanctioned leaders.

It was sheer political theatre. And it was this meeting - rather than the weaponry - that appears to have irked US President Donald Trump.

As the parade began, Trump sent a sharply-worded message on Truth Social, accusing the three leaders of conspiring against America.

This may well have been the reaction President Xi had hoped for as he kept Putin to his right and Kim to his left throughout the parade. The moment may have even been designed to infuriate a US president who would perhaps prefer to be the centre of the world's attention.

The Chinese leader has stolen the limelight, and he's using it to show his power and influence over an eastern-led alliance – a defiant group determined to push back against a US-led world order.

It is a strong message from Xi as the world reels from the unpredictability of Trump's presidency. Besides Kim and Putin, there were more than 20 other foreign heads of state. Just earlier this week, Xi also appeared to be resetting his troubled relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump's 50% levy on Indian imports has prompted a thaw between the long-time rivals.

Wednesday's spectacle was supposed to be about commemorating an 80-year-old victory over Japan. But it was actually about where China is headed - right to the top, with Xi playing the role of a global leader.

And at his feet was a military that is being built to rival the West.

China holds the reins now

This was the first time Xi, Putin and Kim had been seen together - and together, they climbed to the top of the Gate of Heavenly Peace that overlooks the historic square to watch the parade.

The symbolism was hard to miss. Communist China's founder Mao Zedong had declared the founding of the republic there in 1949 - and 10 years later, it was where he hosted Kim's grandfather and the then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, to watch a military parade.

That was the last time the leaders of the three countries were together. It was the height of the Cold War, China was isolated from much of the world, as was North Korea, and the Soviet Union was the most powerful and richest among them.

Now, it's China that holds the reins in this relationship. Nuclear-armed but still poor, North Korea needs Beijing's aid. And Putin needs the legitimacy that Xi just provided him.

In the past, Xi appeared to keep his distance from Putin and Kim, and publicly maintain a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine. He did not condemn it, but denied China was helping Russia.

It even seemed like he was on the sidelines as Russia and North Korea grew closer more recently. Kim has been sending troops to support Putin's invasion of Ukraine in exchange for money and technology.

But now he seems to be standing by his two neighbours, even as they continue to attack Kyiv.

"Today humanity is again faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero sum," Mr Xi told the watching crowds, along with millions glued to the parade coverage on state TV across the country.

China is a "great nation that is never intimidated by any bullies", he declared.

And the military parade that followed was about showing that - it was a display of power, precision and patriotism.

It started with a gun salute – 80 times to mark 80 years since China's victory over Japan in World War Two, ending a brutal occupation. The sound bounced off every corner of the square as 50,000 spectators, some of them war veterans, sat in silence.

The choir followed, every single member appearing exactly spaced out as the cameras panned above them. They sang in perfect harmony: "Without the Communist Party, there is no modern China." Each verse was punctuated by raised fists.

President Xi drove the length of the parade route to inspect his troops before each battle unit took turns to goose-step past their leader. Every joint strike on the tarmac reverberated through the stands.

The rumbling tanks came first in the display of China's new weapons. But they looked old compared to what followed. A new nuclear-capable missile that can be launched from sea, land and air, hypersonic anti-ship missiles and laser weapons to defend against drone attacks. There were new underwater and airborne drones that can spy on targets.

The US may still have an edge, honed over years and through its involvement in conflicts across the world, but there is no doubt that China is building a military to rival that.

And Wednesday's show of strength was a statement aimed at Washington and its allies, as well as the rest of the world - and even at Putin and Kim, who knew the significance of what they were looking at.

"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable," Xi had said in his speech in an effort to bolster pride in the nation.

The West is worried

It appears to be working on some people.

On a bridge overlooking the Tonghui River, crowds had gathered away from the main parade route to try to see the military flypast. Thirty-year-old Mr Rong said he found the parade moving.

"Cherishing this moment is the most fundamental thing we can do. We believe we will retake Taiwan by 2035," he declared.

This is the rhetoric feared by many on the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China believes is a breakaway province that will one day be united with the motherland. Xi has not ruled out the use of force to achieve that goal. And the weaponry that he showed off on Wednesday, much of which emphasised China's naval capabilities, is bound to worry Taiwanese leaders.

It also worries many Western nations, especially in Europe, which are still grappling with how to end the war in Ukraine. Many were absent from the parade.

Han Yongguang, 75, shrugged off any suggestion that Western leaders had shunned the parade.

"It's up to them to come or not," he said. "They are envious of China's fast development. To be honest, they are aggressive at heart. We are completely committed to the common prosperity of mankind. We are different."

This parade has been fuelling a wave of nationalism at a time when China is battling serious domestic challenges: a sluggish economy, a real estate crisis, an ageing population, high youth unemployment and local governments deep in debt.

As confident as China appears on the world stage, President Xi must find a way to keep a burgeoning middle class from worrying about their future. China's economic rise was once thought unstoppable, but that is no longer the case.

So this parade - with all the rhetoric about an old enemy, Japan - may be a welcome distraction.

After a long display of cutting-edge weaponry, including nuclear missiles, the parade concluded with thousands of doves and balloons released into the skies over Beijing.

The commemoration - the songs, the marches, the missiles, the drones, even the "robot wolves" - was not so much about China's struggle.

Rather, it was about how far China has come - and how it is catching up with the US and challenging it for supremacy.

Angela Rayner has admitted she should have paid more tax when she bought her flat in Hove, blaming inaccurate legal advice she received beforehand.

The deputy prime minister said she paid the standard rate of stamp duty on the East Sussex property on the basis it was her only home.

But she said she received further advice, that she should have in fact paid a higher rate, due to arrangements set up for her family home in Greater Manchester.

She denied she had tried to dodge tax, and said she had referred herself for investigation by the prime minister's ethics adviser.

Rayner has faced mounting Tory criticism over her tax situation after continued media scrutiny in recent weeks.

Recording a clip with reporters, she said she had been prevented from sharing more details of her "complex" living arrangements because of a court order that has since been lifted, after she applied to have it removed.

She added that she had contacted HMRC to say she owed additional tax on the property, which she is "prepared to pay".

The Daily Telegraph has previously reported she saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the purchase because she had not paid the higher rate on the £800,000 flat.

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