Pregnant teenager Bella Culley, who admitted drug trafficking charges in Georgia, has arrived home after being freed from prison.

The 19-year-old from Billingham, Teesside, had initially faced a possible 20 years in jail, but prosecutors made a last-minute change to the terms of a plea bargain.

Now eight months pregnant, she had spent five months and 24 days in custody at Georgia's Rustavi Prison Number Five.

She walked free from court in Tbilisi arm-in-arm with her mother on Monday and arrived on an Easyjet flight at Luton Airport just before 19:00 GMT.

The teenager was detained on 10 May having being arrested at Tbilisi International Airport when 12kg (26lb) of marijuana and 2kg (4.4lb) of hashish were found in her luggage.

Her family had recently paid £137,000 to reduce her sentence to two years.

On Monday her lawyer Malkhaz Salakaia said that prosecutors made the changes to the plea deal and, given her age and pregnancy, decided to free her.

Miss Culley had previously pleaded guilty to bringing drugs into Georgia, flying from Thailand via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

She said she was forced to do so by gangsters who tortured her with a hot iron.

She had initially gone missing while travelling in Thailand and her lawyer said Georgian police had launched a separate criminal investigation into her coercion allegations.

Miss Culley had been held in pre-trial detention since May, first in stark conditions in Georgia's Rustavi Prison Number Five before being transferred to a "mother and baby" unit.

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Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, had a glittering - if controversial - career in American public life.

He served as President Gerald Ford's White House chief of staff in the 1970s, before spending a decade in the House of Representatives.

President George H. W. Bush made him defence secretary during the first Gulf War and the US invasion of Panama.

In 2001, Cheney became one of the most powerful vice presidents in history.

He was a key architect of President George W. Bush's 'War on Terror' after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and an early advocate of the invasion of Iraq.

But, in his final years, he became a bitter critic of the Republican party under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

"In our nation's 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic," Cheney said.

Richard Bruce Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on 30 January 1941.

His father worked for the US Department of Agriculture, while his mother had been a successful softball player in the 1930s.

When he was 13, his family moved to Casper, an oil town in Wyoming. In 1959, Cheney entered Yale on a scholarship, but failed to graduate.

He confessed that he fell in with “some kindred souls, young men like me who were not adjusting very well [to Yale] and shared my opinion that beer was one of the essentials of life.”

He went on to gain a Master's degree in political science from the University of Wyoming but - like his future boss, George W. Bush, he continued to party.

In his early 20s, Cheney was twice convicted of drink driving. The incidents focused his mind on the future.

"I was headed down a bad road if I continued on that course," he said.

In 1959, when he became eligible to be drafted for military service, Cheney made the most of every legal avenue to avoid putting on a uniform.

He obtained a string of deferments, first so that he could finish his college course and then when his new wife, Lynne became pregnant.

"I don't regret the decisions I made," he said later. "I complied fully with all the requirements of the statutes, registered with the draft when I turned 18. Had I been drafted, I would have been happy to serve."

Surprisingly this did not become a major campaign issue when he was running for the Vice-Presidency, even after Cheney questioned the ability of the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry - himself a Vietnam veteran - to serve as commander in chief.

Dick Cheney's first taste of Washington came in 1968 when he worked for William Steiger, a young republican representative from Wisconsin.

Legend has it that he caught the eye of Donald Rumsfeld, former defence secretary, then about to take over at the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) under President Richard Nixon.

Rumsfeld mentored Cheney, first in the OEO, and then in the Ford White House.

When Gerald Ford made Rumsfeld his defence secretary in 1975, Cheney found himself chief of staff at the White House. He was just 34 years old.

Eschewing the standard limousine for his battered VW Beetle, Dick Cheney proved a popular and approachable master of ceremonies.

"He made the system run," said Brent Scowcroft, Ford's national security adviser. "Everybody had access to the president, but it was smooth, orderly. He didn't try to be a deputy president."

When Ford lost the presidency in 1976, Cheney returned to Wyoming and stood for its House of Representatives seat.

But, weeks into the campaign and smoking three packets of cigarettes a day, he had the first of his many heart attacks.

While he was recuperating, Lynne continued to campaign on his behalf - and Cheney was returned with an impressive 59% of the vote.

During his decade in the House, he gained himself the reputation as a drier-than-dry conservative, enthusiastically supporting Ronald Reagan's huge Cold War increases in defence spending.

More controversially, he opposed the release of Nelson Mandela from jail and was one of only 21 congressmen to vote against the prohibition of armour-piercing "cop killer" bullets.

Early in 1989, he was given the chance of higher office when President George H. W. Bush's nominee for defence secretary, Senator John Tower, was forced to withdraw amid allegations of heavy drinking and womanising.

Bush needed a congressman with a good reputation to take over at the Pentagon. He chose Dick Cheney and the Senate approved the choice without opposition.

Cheney's years at defence were some of the most momentous since the end of World War Two. The Berlin Wall and the Soviet empire collapsed and the United States was left to rethink its whole doctrine.

Although hawkish by nature, he oversaw a huge post-Cold War reduction in the military budget - where the number of servicemen and women fell from 2.2 million to 1.8 million.

Most of all, though, his time at the Pentagon will be remembered for the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq.

He took the lead in advocating military force against Saddam Hussein, whose troops had invaded Kuwait.

He persuaded Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to allow the deployment of more than 400,000 United States troops on his territory in the lead-up to Operation Desert Storm.

Dick Cheney flew to Riyadh to plan the attack with his generals. After a five week air campaign, coalition forces began a ground war.

Within 100 hours, Iraq's army had been routed.

Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf received the ticker-tape parades. But Dick Cheney, as much as his soldiers, deserved credit for the success of Desert Storm.

Bill Clinton's presidential election victory in 1992 saw Cheney leave Washington once again.

This time he became CEO of Halliburton, a huge multinational company that is a leading supplier of equipment to the oil industry. There he remained, until summoned back to public life by George Bush Jnr.

Initially, he was asked to chair the search for someone to be vice president. But, having reviewed his recommendations, the young presidential candidate asked Dick Cheney if he would join him on the ticket.

After the attacks on 11 September 2001, Cheney was isolated from the president for a number of weeks - taken to an "undisclosed location" - in order to secure the succession if George W. Bush should be killed.

He was a leading advocate of US military action in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He insisted that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, and saw his defeat as the finishing of old business.

Cheney was a strong supporter of waterboarding captured terrorist suspects, declaring himself to be a "strong proponent of our enhanced interrogation techniques".

But it was his close links to, and long experience in Congress which made him a new type of vice-president. Cheney kept offices in the Capitol building as well as near the commander-in-chief, so as to be at the heart of the legislative process.

He played an influential role in keeping Bush's tax policies conservative, and rolling back environmental protections that were hampering American businesses.

Cheney had the ear of the president at all times and was never slow in using his privileged access to by-pass other senior members of the administration.

He did so to some effect in 2001, when he persuaded Bush to sign an order stripping captured foreign terrorist suspects of their legal rights.

This was to the anger of the Secretary of State, Colin Powell who first heard about the decision when it was broadcast on the news channel, CNN.

In October 2002, and later in July 2007, while President Bush was undergoing medical procedures, Cheney became acting president for a few hours under the terms of the 25th Amendment.

But his inability to shepherd legislation through Congress brought accusations that Mr Cheney was a liability.

And, even though George W Bush said that he would retain his running mate for 2004, there was pressure in Republican circles to dump him.

The president stood firm and Cheney played a central role in the decisive victory against John Kerry and his running mate John Edwards.

There was one exception to his conservatism which emerged during the campaign.

He opposed a constitutional ban on gay marriage - supported by President Bush - because his daughter Mary was a lesbian.

Cheney announced that - although the final decision should be left to individual states - he was personally in favour of marriage equality. "Freedom means freedom for everyone," he said.

His reputation became damaged when it emerged that Halliburton had won the contract to restore Iraq's oil industry, and that he was to receive $500,000 in deferred compensation from the company.

More controversy was to follow. In 2005, his former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby was indicted on charges relating to the leaking of a CIA agent's identity to the press.

And in 2006, after intense pressure from politicians and the media, Cheney was forced to take responsibility for accidentally shooting a hunting companion.

Harry Whittington, 78, was left with 30 pellets in his body, leading to a minor heart attack. Mr Cheney later called the incident "one of the worst days of my life".

The unfortunate episode became fodder for US late-night comedians and was seized upon by opponents as a damaging political metaphor - showing Cheney blasting away at the wrong target.

The vice president also grew worried that terrorists might try and assassinate him, by sending an electronic signal to his pacemaker - having seen a fictional version of this plot on the TV series, Homeland.

"I was aware of the danger that existed," he late wrote. "I knew from the experience we had and the necessity for adjusting my own device that it was an accurate portrayal of what was possible."

The pacemaker was taken out and replaced with one that had no connection to wifi.

After eight-years as vice-president, the man widely seen as the architect of President Bush's "war on terror" left office in January 2009.

He became a critic of the Obama administration's national security policies, opposing plans to close the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He lashed out at his vice presidential successor, Joe Biden, calling him "dead wrong" for saying another attack on the scale of 11 September 2001 was unlikely.

After a full heart transplant in 2012, he remained an active political figure. And, despite decades working for Republican presidents, he became a bitter opponent of President Donald Trump.

Having initially endorsed him in 2016, Cheney was appalled by allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election and Trump's seemingly casual attitude towards Nato.

He supported his older daughter, Liz, as she became a leading Republican 'never Trump' in the House of Representatives - and condemned the refusal to accept the result of the 2020 election.

Dick Cheney later published a statement that he would vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

It was an action that guaranteed that he will be remembered with mixed emotions on both sides of the political aisle.

For years, Cheney was a hero to the Republican right for his forthright manner and dry-as-dust ideological beliefs - and reviled by the left, who accused him of working for the interests of the oil industry.

But, he ended up supporting gay marriage and a Democratic party presidential candidate - while his frequent attacks on Donald Trump destroyed his relationship with his former party.

A transgender hospital worker felt a right to use a female-only facility at work as she had done for years without issues being raised, an employment tribunal heard.

Eight nurses are challenging County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust's policy of allowing a female-only changing room to be used by Rose Henderson, a biological male who identifies as a woman.

Rose, an operating department practitioner at Darlington Memorial Hospital who has been referred to by first name at the tribunal and uses female pronouns, also denied claims of giving "evil looks" at nurses who had signed a letter of objection to her use of and alleged conduct within the changing room.

The tribunal continues.

The hearing in Newcastle heard Rose had completed placements at the hospital since 2019 as part of studies at Teesside University, before beginning full time work there in 2022.

Since the first day, Rose had changed in the female-only room, used by about 300 women, the tribunal heard.

Niazi Fetto KC, barrister for the nurses, asked if Rose had ever considered, as other transgender colleagues had done in the past, asking for a separate place to get changed.

"No, I didn't see it as necessary," Rose replied, adding the use of the women's changing room was "never really brought up" by managers.

Mr Fetto asked if Rose had ever considered if using the changing room could pose a "risk" that other users might be upset, embarrassed or frightened by Rose's presence there.

"It never occurred to me it could be a risk, no," Rose said.

The tribunal has heard complaints were first made by female nurses on the day surgery unit (DSU) in August or September 2023, with 26 women going on to sign a letter complaining about Rose's use of and conduct within the changing room in March 2024.

Mr Fetto asked if Rose had continued using the changing room even after being aware of the "discontent", which Rose agreed with.

"To your mind you had a right to use the changing room?" Mr Fetto asked.

Rose replied: "Yes."

Mr Fetto asked if Rose had thought about the "perspective" of those complaining, to which Rose replied it was a source of "wonder" why there was "suddenly an issue" given she had been using the room for several years already.

"I considered their reasoning, but not to any great extent," Rose told the tribunal.

'Above bigotry'

Rose only became aware of the full details of the complaint when they were printed and broadcast in the media, the tribunal heard.

Mr Fetto asked if, after that, Rose had made a point of going to the DSU in "defiance" of the women and to appear "above bigotry and hatred" as Rose had written in a statement to the tribunal.

Rose said there were a "good number of reasons" professionally to go to the unit.

Several nurses alleged Rose gave them "evil looks" or "hard stares", which Rose denied, telling the tribunal she did not know who the nurses were.

"I'm not in the business of levelling evil looks at anyone or hard staring," Rose said, adding people could think whatever they wanted about her but that did not influence her view of colleagues "as professionals".

One of the lead nurses, Bethany Hutchison, said Rose had smirked at her as they passed in a corridor, which she took to be an attempt at intimidation.

Mr Fetto asked Rose if she had "displayed amusement" towards nurse Bethany Hutchison.

Rose said she was talking to another colleague at the time about something they found funny, "but it wasn't [Ms Hutchison's] presence which I found amusing".

The tribunal has heard a poster declaring the changing room to be "inclusive" was put up by some of Rose's colleagues after the row erupted.

Rose saw a post about it circulating on social media and immediately contacted managers to ask for the sign to be taken down, saying it was done with good intentions but was doing more harm than good.

Mr Fetto asked if Rose knew who put the poster up.

Rose did not know exactly but assumed it to have been done by supportive theatre colleagues, a "small subset" of whom had been frustrated at not being able to do anything to help.

The tribunal has heard allegations from the nurses about Rose's conduct in the changing room, with some claiming Rose would walk around in boxer shorts and stare at women getting changed.

Rose said the allegations were "false".

One of the nurses, Karen Danson, had told the tribunal Rose had once asked her three times if she was going to get changed, which had triggered flashbacks to sexual abuse Ms Danson suffered as a child.

Rose did not know who Ms Danson was and could not recall such an incident, the tribunal heard.

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The chancellor's pitch: the Budget will be painful, due to the actions of others, but it will be worth it, to tackle debt, help public services and promote growth.

How does that add up?

Rachel Reeves pinned the need for expected tax rises on the actions of previous governments – post-Brexit trading arrangements, austerity – as the underlying reasons for a disappointing assessment by the official forecasters of the economy's productivity.

That productivity has been held back by years of poor investment, and improvements have been slow. Lower productivity means weaker growth in the economy, hitting tax income and affecting assumptions about how much money the chancellor has to find to meet her financial rules.

Reeves also pointed to other external forces - tariffs and supply chain disruption – for the underwhelming performance of growth and inflation.

But some of these were foreseeable. Even if the official assessment is worse than thought, productivity - a measure of the output of the economy per hour worked - has long been problematic.

And when it comes to external factors, President Trump's trade hostilities, for example, are expected to have a very limited impact on growth.

Economists say the chancellor may need tax rises totalling some £30bn to meet her financial rules by a comfortable margin.

Reeves accused past Conservative governments of prioritising political convenience, but her fiscal position also reflects similar actions by her own government.

The public purse is having to find several billions of pounds to fund U-turns over welfare and Winter Fuel Payments.

Analysts, including those at the Bank of England, also point to the chancellor's own tax rises in last year's Budget as hindering growth and employment, and adding to inflation pressures this year.

It was always risky for Reeves to suggest she wouldn't be back for another hefty tax raid. She met her financial rules by only a slim margin last year. The gamble didn't pay off, but it can't just be blamed on ill winds from elsewhere.

It now appears that taxes are going to rise – and significantly. The chancellor argues money is needed to support the extra funding that has been put into public services, but the performance of these services depends on more than just cash.

Official figures indicate that in the year after Labour came to power, the public sector, and in particular healthcare, became less efficient as productivity dropped. There's more work to be done if we're to get bang for our buck.

For the actual detail on which taxes will rise, we'll have to wait until the Budget.

But by skirting around the issue of whether manifesto pledges will be adhered to, while claiming to have inherited a dire environment, the chancellor has stoked speculation that income tax rates may rise.

The pledges of not increasing the main rates of VAT, employee National Insurance Contributions and income tax always seemed risky to economists – the "big three" account for the majority of tax take. But they are also the most visible taxes for the public, and their inclusion in the manifesto made them appear taboo, glass only to be broken in cases of emergency.

A rise in, say, income tax rates may come to pass (perhaps accompanied with a cut in National Insurance to offset the impact on workers). But it may not.

The Budget is still being put together. The door to breaking manifesto pledges may have been deliberately nudged open so that if it doesn't come to pass, then an alternate package of tax rises, however large, would be greeted with relief.

There are a multitude of other options to consider– a levy on banks or the gambling industry, a further freezing of the thresholds at which different rates of taxes on incomes become applicable (so-called fiscal drag), a change in the liability of partnerships for National Insurance and even the tax treatment of pension levies have all been mooted.

And those tax rises will still be substantial, and felt primarily in the pockets of the better off.

Finding tax rises of the tune of £20-£30bn - sucking that amount out of the economy - is impossible without affecting incomes or profits, which risks damaging the outlook for growth.

However big the tax bill, this Budget may not deliver everything the chancellor wishes for.

The brother of the Southport killer said his parents "lost control" of their son and he feared his younger sibling would kill a member of their family, a public inquiry has heard.

Axel Rudakubana, then 17, killed three children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop on 29 July 2024.

The Southport Inquiry, sitting at Liverpool Town Hall, heard the attacker's brother Dion Rudakubana told a friend there was a risk of his brother "doing something potentially fatal".

The inquiry was told Dion told his friend over the Discord messaging app: "The fights are scary because of the danger of someone dying".

Dion said his brother reminded him of the sociopathic murderer in the film No Country For Old Men.

The inquiry heard Dion was diagnosed with a neuromuscular disorder at the age of 12 which led to him using a wheelchair and his parents helping him more.

When asked by Richard Boyle, counsel to the inquiry, if that changed his relationship he said: "There was tension that came about."

Dion agreed his brother appeared to resent this change.

He told the inquiry that after the family moved from Cardiff to Southport his brother's moods deteriorated and he would have "violent outbursts".

The inquiry heard Dion became "increasingly wary" of his brother, who would hit him regularly.

He said: "I had to be cautious if I did speak to him because any disagreement could escalate into an argument."

'Serious fears'

Dion said his brother became significantly more violent after he was expelled from Range High School in Formby, Merseyside, in October 2019.

Dion left for university in 2022 and the brothers spoke less and less "because he was not familiar with having me around".

The inquiry was told about a message Dion sent to a friend on Discord in which he said his brother was annoyed by him speaking late at night because of the thin walls in their home.

He also told his friend there was a risk of "him doing something potentially fatal".

He said: "The fights are scary because of the danger of someone dying."

Mr Boyle asked: "You had serious fears that your brother would kill a member of your family?"

Dion replied: "If things escalated to that point."

Mr Boyle asked how his parents reacted to the attacker's violent behaviour.

"It didn't make sense to try and punish him," he said. "Also, there was a heavy risk in doing so.

"We said there was a general risk to life in general conversation, if you try to confront him... it wouldn't be responded to well."

When Mr Boyle asked if his parents had lost control of his brother, Dion agreed.

When asked about his brother reminding him of a character from the film No Country for Old Men, Dion said: "I've been told that character's meant to be a sociopath and that's why I used the word there".

Dion said the last interaction he had with his brother was in the summer of 2023 .

He confirmed that their parents asked the killer to say goodbye to him as he was leaving to see his friends and his brother threw a bottle at him but the door had closed before it hit.

The inquiry continues.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves is contemplating tax rises in her Budget on 26 November.

And she has said one of the key reasons is that the government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), is going to lower its UK productivity growth forecast for the coming years.

So why would lower UK productivity forecasts lead to tax rises?

And is this something the government could have anticipated before it pledged not to raise taxes on working people in its 2024 election manifesto?

BBC Verify has been looking into the statistics.

What is productivity?

Productivity is the amount of goods and services the entire UK economy produces for each hour of work done by everyone in the working population, also known as "output per hour".

It gives an indication of how efficiently a country's economy is using its workforce and equipment to produce these goods and services - and so how productive a country is.

A country with higher levels of productivity often has higher average wages and incomes.

In the Spring Statement in March 2025 the OBR projected total UK productivity would grow by around 1% each year over the next five years.

If productivity grows more slowly it means overall GDP growth - and overall tax revenues - will be lower than previously expected.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank has estimated each 0.1 percentage point downgrade in the official productivity growth forecast increases projected government borrowing by £7bn in 2029–30.

That is the year when the government's chosen borrowing rules require it to balance day-to-day spending with tax revenues, essentially so it's not borrowing for anything except investment.

So if the OBR downgraded its forecast for average UK productivity growth over the next five years from 1% to 0.8% (-0.2 percentage points) that revision would increase projected borrowing in 2029-30 by £14bn.

In March, the chancellor gave herself "headroom" against meeting her borrowing rules in 2029-30 of only £9.9bn. In other words, this was the leeway between meeting and not meeting her rules.

That means an OBR productivity forecast downgrade of 0.2 percentage points (£14bn) would, on its own, wipe away this headroom, pushing the government into a projected deficit in that year.

And if the chancellor wanted to restore that headroom against her rules she would need to either cut government spending or raise taxes by an equivalent amount.

Given the spending budgets of departments were fixed in the June Spending Review, the chancellor is expected to try to restore her headroom against her fiscal rules by raising taxes.

What's been happening to UK productivity over a longer period?

The UK's productivity growth has been unusually weak since the financial crisis.

Between 1971 and 2009, UK output per hour grew by 2% a year on average.

But since 2010 it has grown by an average of just 0.4% a year.

This productivity growth slowdown is not unique to the UK. It has been a feature of most advanced countries since 2010.

However, the UK's slowdown has been relatively large.

In the period 2010 to 2023, the UK's average annual growth rate fell by an average of 1.9 percentage points relative to the growth rate in the period 1971 to 2009.

This was worse than the rest of the G7 group of industrialised nations, apart from Germany and Japan.

Why has UK productivity growth been so weak?

For many years after 2010, economists treated the UK's productivity slowdown as a puzzle, because there was no consensus on the cause.

Some pointed to the lasting and outsize impact of the financial crisis on the UK, given our economy's reliance on financial services through the City of London.

Others suggested the austerity era spending cuts and tax rises of the last Conservative-led government had contributed to it by reducing overall economic activity at a time when the UK had the potential to grow more quickly without generating inflation.

More recently, Brexit has been cited as a contributor - both due to the reduction in trade relative to the UK staying in the EU's single market and customs union since 2020 and also the damage to business investment from the long period of uncertainty about the UK's future status in the years after the 2016 referendum.

There is still no consensus on the reasons for the productivity slowdown, though many economists think historically low levels of investment in the UK economy - both from the private sector and government - are likely to be an important part of the story.

Should this latest productivity downgrade come as a surprise?

Not really, because in its most recent forecast the OBR was notably more optimistic about UK productivity growth than other UK forecasters, including the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In March, the OBR was projecting medium-term potential supply growth for the UK (a wider measure of productivity, which includes increases in the available workforce) of 1.79%, versus the Bank of England's 1.5% and the IMF's 1.36%.

And the OBR has been persistently optimistic about UK productivity growth since 2010.

Given that, it is not surprising that the OBR has downgraded its forecasts to be more in line with other forecasters.

Public finance experts note that if Rachel Reeves had given herself more headroom against her fiscal rules in March 2025 then she might not have needed to respond to this downgrade by raising taxes.

Many public finance experts cautioned after her last Budget in October 2024 that if productivity growth disappointed, her plans and pledges not to raise taxes again looked vulnerable.

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Former US Vice-President Dick Cheney, a key architect of George W Bush's "war on terror" and an early advocate of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, has died at the age of 84.

He died from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease on Monday night, his family said.

Cheney served as Gerald Ford's White House chief of staff in the 1970s, before later becoming one of the most powerful US vice presidents in history under Bush.

In his later years, he became a bitter critic of the Republican party under the leadership of Donald Trump.

"Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honour, love, kindness, and fly fishing," his family said in a statement.

• Follow our live updates on Cheney's life and legacy

Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1941 and later attended the prestigious Yale University on a scholarship but failed to graduate.

He went on to gain a Master's degree in political science from the University of Wyoming.

His first taste of Washington came in 1968, when he worked for William Steiger, a young Republican representative from Wisconsin.

Cheney became chief of staff under Ford when he was just 34, before spending a decade in the House of Representatives.

As secretary of defence under George Bush Snr, he presided over the Pentagon during the 1990-91 Gulf War, in which a US-led coalition evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

He then became VP to George W Bush in 2001 and played a greater role in making major policy decisions than most of his predecessors.

It is for this role that he will be remembered best and most controversially.

During the younger Bush's administration, he singlehandedly turned his role as vice-president from what was traditionally an empty role, with little formal power, into a de-facto deputy presidency, overseeing American foreign policy and national security in the wake of the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001.

He was a leading advocate of US military action in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

In the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, Cheney said that Saddam Hussein's regime possessed so-called weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons were never found during the military campaign.

He also repeatedly claimed there were links between Iraq and al-Qaeda, the terror group led by Osama bin Laden that claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. He said the attackers would incur the "full wrath" of American military might.

"The fact is we know that Saddam Hussein and Iraq were heavily involved with terror," Cheney said in 2006.

In 2005, Cheney warned of "decades of patient effort" in the war on terror, warning "it will be resisted by those whose only hope for power is through the spread of violence".

His key role in the campaign heavily affected his political legacy, after the US took years to extricate itself from its costly war in Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

Despite decades working for Republican presidents, he later became a bitter opponent of President Donald Trump.

Having initially endorsed him in 2016, Cheney was appalled by allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election and Trump's seemingly casual attitude towards Nato.

He supported his older daughter, Liz, as she became a leading Republican "never Trump" in the House of Representatives - and condemned the refusal to accept the result of the 2020 election.

Two months before last year's US presidential election, Cheney staged a major intervention: announcing that he would vote for the Democrats' Kamala Harris.

He said there had "never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump".

In return, Trump called Cheney "irrelevant RINO" - an acronym which stands for "Republican in name only".

In his final years, Cheney would become a persona non grata in his own party, which had been reshaped in Trump's image.

His daughter, who had followed him into Congress, was ousted from office for her criticism of Trump.

In an odd final twist, his own Trump criticism - and endorsement of Harris - would win him praise from some on the left who had once denounced him decades earlier.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said "heads should roll" at the BBC, following reports that a Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.

The Telegraph said it had seen an internal memo suggesting the programme edited two parts of Trump's speech together so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.

Badenoch told GB News the edits were "absolutely shocking", adding that director general Tim Davie should be "identifying who put out misinformation, and sacking them".

A BBC spokesperson said: "While we don't comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

The one-hour programme, Trump: A Second Chance?, was broadcast last year and was made for the BBC by independent production company October Films Ltd, which has also been approached for comment.

In his speech in Washington DC on 6 January 2021, Trump said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women."

However, in Panorama's edit, he was shown saying: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."

The two sections of the speech that were edited together were more than 50 minutes apart.

The "fight like hell" comment was taken from a section where President Trump discussed how "corrupt" US elections were. In total, he used the words "fight" or "fighting" 20 times in the speech.

After showing the president speaking, the programme played footage of flag-waving men marching on the Capitol, the Telegraph said.

According to the leaked memo, this "created the impression President Trump's supporters had taken up his 'call to arms'". But that footage was in fact shot before the president had started speaking.

On 6 January 2021, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, protesting about Joe Biden's election victory. Five people died in relation to the riot.

The House of Representatives accused Trump of encouraging violence with false claims of election fraud, but he was acquitted of an impeachment charge that he incited a mob to storm the Capitol.

According to the Telegraph, the document said Panorama's "distortion of the day's events" would leave viewers asking: "Why should the BBC be trusted, and where will this all end?"

When the issue was raised with managers, the memo continued, they "refused to accept there had been a breach of standards".

Speaking to GB News on Tuesday, Badenoch said: "That is fake news, actually putting different things together to make something look different from what it actually was.

"And I do think heads should roll. Whoever it was who did that should be sacked, that's what Tim Davie should be doing, identifying who put out misinformation, and sacking them."

She continued: "The public need to be able to trust our public broadcaster... They should not be telling us things that are not true.

"This is a corporation that needs to hold itself to the highest standards, and that means that when we see people doing the wrong thing, they should be punished, they should be sacked."

Former prime minister Boris Johnson also said the corporation needed to respond, asking on X: "Is anyone at the BBC going to take responsibility - and resign?"

The Telegraph said the report it had obtained about BBC bias was written by Michael Prescott, formerly an independent external adviser to the broadcaster's editorial guidelines and standards committee. He left the role in June.

The newspaper said a whistleblower sent a copy of the 19-page dossier to every member of the BBC board last month. BBC News has not seen a copy of the memo.

In its statement, the BBC said: "Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated."

BBC News has approached Mr Prescott for comment.

Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee, said: "At a time when trust in both politics and mainstream media is so low, our state broadcaster has an additional responsibility to ensure that it reports contentious and potentially inflammatory issues with a straight bat.

"These allegations are extremely worrying and come at a critical time for the BBC. The DCMS committee will meet tomorrow and will no doubt discuss the implications of this."

Downing Street said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and senior officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have received a copy of the internal memo, and have been assured by the BBC that the corporation is examining the issues it raises.

The prime minister's spokesman said: "We take any criticisms of the BBC's editorial standards very seriously and we expect the BBC to consider any feedback that they receive seriously and carefully."

Hamas has handed over to the Red Cross in northern Gaza a coffin containing what the Palestinian group says is the body of a deceased hostage, according to the Israeli military.

The remains will be transferred to Israeli forces, who will take them to the National Centre of Foreign Medicine in Tel Aviv for identification.

Earlier, Hamas's armed wing said it had recovered the body of an Israeli soldier in the eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City.

Israel had allowed members of the group and Red Cross staff to search for the remains in the area, which is inside territory still controlled by Israeli forces.

The Israeli government has accused Hamas of deliberately delaying the recovery of the dead hostages since a ceasefire deal took effect more than three weeks ago.

Hamas has insisted it is difficult to locate the bodies under rubble.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire deal that took effect on 10 October, Hamas agreed to return the 20 living and 28 dead hostages it was still holding within 72 hours.

All the living Israeli hostages were released on 13 October in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Israel has handed over the bodies of 270 Palestinians in exchange for the bodies of the 18 Israeli hostages returned by Hamas before Tuesday, along with those of two foreign hostages - one of them Thai and the other Nepalese.

Six of the eight dead hostages still in Gaza before Tuesday were Israelis, one was Tanzanian, and one was Thai.

All but one of the dead hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,800 people have been killed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Earlier on Tuesday, a hospital official in Gaza City said a man was killed by Israeli fire in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said its troops killed a "terrorist" who had crossed the "Yellow Line", which demarcates Israeli-controlled territory, and posed a threat to them.

A US fugitive who faked his own death then adopted a false identity in an attempt to avoid being extradited from Scotland has been jailed for a second time for rape.

Nicholas Rossi, 38, was found guilty of raping two women in Utah in 2008 after two separate trials earlier this year.

He has now been told he must serve at least 10 years in jail after the judge in the second case imposed an additional sentence of between five years and life in prison.

Rossi's attempts to evade justice after being arrested in the Covid ward of a Glasgow hospital in 2021 led to a worldwide fascination with his case.

Staff had recognised his mugshot and distinctive tattoos from an Interpol wanted notice - but he claimed to be an Irish-born orphan called Arthur Knight, who had never been to America.

He gave an interview to the BBC, where he maintained his story - but could not produce a birth certificate or a passport.

Rossi continued to insist at a series of court hearings - which he usually attended in an electric wheelchair, wearing an oxygen mask, hat and three-piece suit - that he was the victim of mistaken identity.

He was finally extradited to the US in January 2024, more than a year after a Scottish court had ruled that he was indeed Nicholas Rossi.

He was convicted in separate trials in August and September this year of raping two women in Utah in 2008.

The state has indeterminate sentencing, which is given in a range of years rather than a fixed number.

In the first case, in Salt Lake City, the judge said that term should range from five years to life in prison.

In the second case, in Utah County, the judge also sentenced Rossi to between five years and life - and ruled that the jail term should begin at the end of the first sentence.

It will ultimately be up to the state's board of pardons and parole to determine how long he will spend in prison.

The court in Utah County heard impact statements from Rossi's two victims, who spoke emotionally about how his crimes had devastated their lives.

The women described the ongoing impact of their trauma and said Rossi was "a danger to society".

Rossi also addressed the judge, claiming both women were lying and saying he would lodge an appeal.

His defence asked for the sentence in the second case to run at the same time as the first jail term.

But Stephen Jones, deputy Utah County attorney, argued that it should run after the sentence imposed in Salt Lake City.

He highlighted that Rossi had made 4,498 calls to his wife from prison in Utah - 344 of them using other prisoners' accounts.

He said this was a violation of prison policy and an example of Rossi's manipulation.

Mr Jones said Rossi had been able to "talk his way out of almost anything" for 18 years – until he was finally "held accountable" in Salt Lake.

Judge Derek Pullan said Rossi was a serial sex offender and a danger to others.

Born Nicholas Alahverdian in Rhode Island in 1987, Rossi spent time in care as a teenager and went on to become a child welfare campaigner.

Reports of his death emerged in 2020, but the authorities suspected Rossi had fled to the UK after discovering that the FBI were investigating an alleged credit card fraud.

His online footprint ultimately led police to the hospital in Glasgow, where he was identified by staff.

Rossi insisted that he had been given his distinctive tattoos while he was lying unconscious in the hospital in an attempt to frame him.

He sacked several lawyers before a sheriff eventually ruled in 2023 that he was Nicholas Rossi, and that his mistaken identity claim was "implausible" and fanciful".

He was flown back to America in January 2024 after failing to overturn the decision. Several months later, he admitted his real identity during a bail hearing in Salt Lake City.

A delayed report into how a school head teacher was able to sexually abuse girls for years has found there were more than 50 "missed opportunities" to intervene and stop him.

A Child Practice Review (CPR), led by prominent expert Jan Pickles, has looked into the crimes of 68-year-old Neil Foden, from Conwy county in north Wales, who was jailed for 17 years after being convicted of 19 charges involving four girls.

The review said Foden was a "prolific sex offender who harmed many children".

A total of 52 concerns about safeguarding and other issues were found to have been raised and not acted on by Cyngor Gwynedd council and other agencies as early as 2018, continuing until his arrest in 2023.

Ms Pickles paid tribute to the bravery of the victims and described Foden as "a sophisticated and controlling paedophile" who "created a culture which enabled his offending in plain sight".

She said safeguarding was a "multi-agency responsibility", requiring all agencies to contribute to keep children safe and follow agreed legislation, guidance and policies, adding: "In this case, those arrangements failed."

The "ambitious" recommendations the report makes are "designed to bring about the most significant change in safeguarding in schools in Wales in a generation," Ms Pickles said.

The review was unique in its size and scale, analysing 10 times the volume of information that is usually looked at in a CPR, and took more than a year to complete.

It also highlights an historical allegation dating back to 1979, not long after Foden qualified as a teacher.

The suspected attempted murder of 10 people on a train in Cambridgeshire is being linked with three more knife incidents, police have confirmed.

Anthony Williams, 32, of no fixed abode, has been charged over the mass stabbing which took place on the Doncaster to London King's Cross service on Saturday.

British Transport Police (BTP), which has taken the lead on the inquiry, said it was being linked with the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy in Peterborough on Friday evening.

Two incidents in which a man entered a barber shop in the city - on at least one occasion holding a knife - were also being linked.

BTP said it was also linking the stabbings on the rail service, which made an emergency stop in Huntingdon, with a fourth incident on a DLR train at Pontoon Dock in the early hours of Saturday.

Mr Williams has already been charged with an 11th count of attempted murder, after a 17-year-old person was stabbed on the train in east London.

Dep Ch Con Stuart Cundy said BTP was increasing visibility of police officers across the railway network to "reassure" both staff and the "travelling public".

The suspected attempted murder of 10 people on a train in Cambridgeshire is being linked with three more knife incidents, police have confirmed.

Anthony Williams, 32, of no fixed abode, has been charged over the mass stabbing which took place on the Doncaster to London King's Cross service on Saturday.

British Transport Police (BTP), which has taken the lead on the inquiry, said it was being linked with the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy in Peterborough on Friday evening.

Two incidents in which a man entered a barber shop in the city - on at least one occasion holding a knife - were also being linked.

BTP said it was also linking the stabbings on the rail service, which made an emergency stop in Huntingdon, with a fourth incident on a DLR train at Pontoon Dock in the early hours of Saturday.

Mr Williams has already been charged with an 11th count of attempted murder, after a 17-year-old person was stabbed on the train in east London.

Dep Ch Con Stuart Cundy said BTP was increasing visibility of police officers across the railway network to "reassure" both staff and the "travelling public".

Sir David Beckham has been knighted by King Charles during a ceremony at Windsor Castle, honoured for his services to sport and charity.

The former Manchester United and England star was accompanied by his wife - now known as Lady Victoria - and his parents, Ted and Sandra.

Sir David, 50, was dressed in a grey three-piece suit made by his fashion designer wife, which was inspired by a suit King Charles wore when he was younger.

The footballer said: "[King Charles] was quite impressed with my suit. He's the most elegantly dressed man that I know, so he inspired quite a few of my looks over the years and he definitely inspired this look."

He added: "It was something that my wife made me.

"I looked at old pictures of [King Charles] when he was quite young in morning suits and I was like 'OK, that's what I want to wear' - so I gave it to my wife and she did it."

Speaking of his honour, Sir David said: "I couldn't be prouder. People know how patriotic I am - I love my country.

"I've always said how important the monarchy is to my family.

"I'm lucky enough to have travelled around the world and all people want to talk to me about is our monarchy. It makes me proud."

Lady Victoria received an OBE in 2017 for services to the fashion industry, while Sir David was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003.

Sir David played 115 times for his country as well as for Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, Paris St-Germain and AC Milan, retiring in 2013.

He also played a key role in securing the London 2012 Olympics, and has been an ambassador for Unicef since 2005.

Sir David became an ambassador for The King's Foundation in 2024, supporting King Charles' education programme and efforts to ensure young people have a greater understanding of nature.

Others honoured on Tuesday included Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and West End star Dame Elaine Paige.

Sir Kazuo, whose books include 1989's The Remains of the Day and 2005's Never Let Me Go, for which he won the Man Booker Prize, was made a Companion of Honour.

Evita star Dame Elaine received her honour for services to music and charity.

The 77-year-old wore a blue feathered hat made by a milliner to the late Queen and carried a bag designed by Lady Victoria.

She said she made the King laugh during their conversation, telling the PA news agency: "The King has a very quiet voice and he said to me, I think he said to me, 'Are you keeping your hand in?' after having said to me, 'I haven't seen you in quite a while', which was true.

"And so I said I was keeping my hand in and that I was in fact about to embark on a new album and that I would send him a signed copy if he would like it once it's done.

"He thought that was rather amusing and laughed. I'm sure it's not something that he would be particularly interested in but I will send it anyway."

The album will contain songs the singer grew up listening to, including tunes from The Beatles and Joni Mitchell.

A 14-year-old British boy who took his parents to court after they sent him to boarding school in Africa must remain there until at least the end of his GCSEs, a High Court judge has ruled.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was taken to Ghana in March 2024 after being told he was visiting a sick relative.

In fact, his parents wanted him to move there after concerns about his behaviour in London, including absences from school, having unexplained money and carrying a knife, court papers said. The boy denies being part of a gang or carrying a weapon.

A judge ruled on Monday the boy should remain in Ghana and prepare to return after completing the equivalent of GCSEs.

After saying he was unhappy and homesick in Ghana, the boy found publicly funded lawyers and brought a case against his parents to the High Court in London, in February.

He lost his first bid to return when a High Court judge ruled he was at risk of suffering greater harm in returning to the UK.

Then, in June he won a Court of Appeal bid to have the case reheard after the most senior judge in the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said there had been confusion in the previous decision.

On Tuesday, the High Court handed down its judgement, which ruled against the boy's wishes, citing ongoing disruption, including to his schoolwork and to his family life.

Judge Mrs Justice Theis said: "I am acutely aware that the conclusion I have reached does not accord with [his] wishes and how that will feel for him...

"[He] has the talent, ability and intelligence to make this work together with his family. It will be difficult but they all have the common aim for [him] to return to live with his family."

The boy, who is nearly 15 and has British and Ghanian citizenship, remains in school in Ghana and is studying for his GCSEs.

He previously told the court that he was "living in hell" and was "desperate" to return to the UK.

He described feeling "like an alien" in Ghana and being "abandoned" by his family. He does not speak Twi and said he has struggled to make friends and feels socially anxious.

The boy "welcomes" the judge's decision to set out a clear roadmap for his return to the UK, said his solicitor, James Netto, of the International Family Law Group.

Mr Netto described the case as "extremely difficult... on every level".

He said the boy never wanted to be in a position where he was "obliged" to bring court proceedings against his own parents, but their actions "left him with no meaningful alternative".

"His position remains unchanged: he wants to return home," Mr Netto added.

The boy's mother said she would not be able to care for him if he returned to the UK before his GCSEs were over.

She said: "It is really hard to be away from him... I feared and continue to fear if he were to come back now, that he could end up dead. I know he does not see it like that…"

Handing down her judgement, Mrs Justice Theis explained that the boy should "remain living in Ghana with the aim of setting out a road map and taking the necessary steps for [him] to return here after completing his GCSEs".

She added: "Whether that would take place will need to be reviewed nearer the time."

The "road map" includes taking part in family therapy funded by their local authority.

Manchester Pride owes a total of £1.3m to performers, suppliers and venues, according to a report outlining its finances.

The charity behind the event announced it had gone bust last month as a growing number of people complained they had not been paid for their work.

A financial report shared with BBC Newsbeat shows that 182 companies and individuals are owed amounts ranging from £30 to £330,329.

It also details the organiser's last-ditch attempts to secure Pride's future once it became clear the 2025 event had lost money.

According to a report prepared by business restructuring specialists KR8 Advisory, headline act Nelly Furtado's production company is owed £145,775.75.

A company linked to headliner and ex-Eurovision contestant Olly Alexander is listed as being owed £48,000.

The list also includes an entry for first aid charity St John Ambulance - owed £47,330.40 - while the company in charge of event venue Mayfield Depot is said to be owed £330,329.

It also says security firm Practical Event Solutions has not been paid £167,892.

The new information also reveals some of the background to Manchester Pride's decision to enter liquidation last month.

It says directors sought legal advice in early September after ticket sales for its August Bank Holiday weekend event were lower than expected.

The charity unsuccessfully explored "rescue proposals" before announcing it would go into liquidation on 16 October, according to the report.

The report said Manchester Pride began 2025 in "challenging circumstances", and also had to contend with the cost-of-living crisis and issues affecting the wider events industry.

Organisers had hoped the launch of the Mardi Gras event at Mayfield Depot would help to shore up the charity's finances and create a template for future years, it adds.

"But as delivery of the festival drew closer, the pace of ticket sales did not accelerate as expected," the report says.

Ultimately, the Mardi Gras event was not successful, the report says, and the losses it generated cancelled out profits from the annual Gay Village Party in the city.

Once it became apparent it had lost money for a third year in a row, the report says bosses sought financial advice and were told they should not make payments to suppliers until their financial position became clear.

It also said the charity prepared a "compelling" bid to Manchester City Council seeking support, but the authority was unable to help after weeks of deliberation.

During this time, it was also waiting to learn whether it had been selected to host EuroPride 2028.

Winning the bid would likely have meant "significant grant funding and sponsorship support would be available", the report says.

After learning they had been unsuccessful on 11 October, the report says Manchester Pride's bosses called an emergency meeting where they explored remaining options to keep the charity going.

Ultimately, the report says, they opted to place the charity into liquidation.

Manchester Pride was one of the UK's biggest LGBT events, with only London and Brighton drawing bigger crowds.

Its organisers have apologised for delays in communication with unpaid acts and contractors.

They had already announced plans to hold next year's event over the August Bank Holiday, as per tradition.

Manchester City Council has said it will "support a new chapter" for the event and is hopeful it will return in 2026.

Entertainment union Equity said it was taking legal advice to determine "the best way forward", and the government's Charity Commission was also looking into concerns around Manchester Pride.

Equity, which represents entertainers and performers, told Newsbeat more people contacted it about money owed after Manchester Pride posted on social media saying it was taking legal and financial advice to determine "the best way forward".

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

King Charles has knighted former England football captain Sir David Beckham at Windsor Castle.

Beckham was awarded a knighthood in the King's Birthday Honours in June, alongside actor Gary Oldman and musician Roger Daltrey.

UK Honours typically celebrate the contribution of well-known personalities, government employees and ordinary people who have served their community.

When are UK honours awarded?

Most UK honours are awarded on the monarch's official birthday in June and at the new year.

The 2025 Birthday Honours also made Dames of author Pat Barker and singer Elaine Page, while Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were awarded OBEs.

The reality TV personality Georgia Harrison was made an MBE for her work on online privacy after her former partner was jailed for sharing a video of them having sex.

In the most recent New Year Honours, actor Stephen Fry, former England football manager Gareth Southgate and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were among those knighted.

The list also included an MBE for Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson, and CBEs for services to drama for actresses Sarah Lancashire and Carey Mulligan.

Dissolution honours are typically given to politicians when Parliament ends before a general election.

Outgoing prime ministers can also award resignation honours.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak named 36 people in his resignation honours list - most of whom were high-profile former Conservative ministers, and advisors.

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both issued resignation honours when they left office in 2022.

Johnson's controversial list initially contained eight names rejected by the body which approves appointments to the House of Lords.

Truss was widely criticised for submitting an honours list after only 49 days in the job.

How are people chosen for honours?

The New Year and King's Birthday honours are awarded by the King following recommendations by the prime minister or senior government ministers.

Members of the public can also recommend people for an award. These nominations typically make up about a quarter of all recommendations.

Honours' lists include awards for people who:

• have made significant achievements in public life
• committed themselves to serving and helping Britain

Resignation and dissolution honours are decided by the relevant prime minister and do not go through the same process.

The Foreign Office has responsibility for the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List. Honorary awards for foreign nationals are recommended by the foreign secretary.

Honours are traditionally kept confidential until the official announcement.

How and when do people get their honours?

Honours are typically awarded by the King, Prince of Wales or Princess Royal, at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Recipients can select their investiture's date and location but not which member of the Royal Family will preside over the ceremony.

British Empire Medals are presented locally by lord-lieutenants, who represent the King.

How are nominees vetted?

People in line for an honour are checked by the Honours and Appointments Secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office government department.

The Cabinet Office has agreements with other government departments to let it access confidential information about nominees.

For example, HMRC provides a low, medium or high-risk rating on a nominee's tax affairs.

Peerages are vetted by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

A Parliamentary and Political Services Committee considers honours for politicians and for political service.

Can you turn down an honour?

When somebody is approved for an honour, they are sent a letter asking if they will accept it.

A list of 277 people who turned down honours between 1951 and 1999 - and subsequently died - was made public following a BBC Freedom of Information request.

It included authors Roald Dahl, JG Ballard and Aldous Huxley, and painters Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud and LS Lowry.

The late poet Benjamin Zephaniah rejected an OBE in 2003 because of the association with the British Empire and its history of slavery.

• Eight musicians who declined a British honour

Can an honour be removed?

Some people have had their honours withdrawn by the Honours Forfeiture Committee.

They include disgraced former entertainer Rolf Harris, who went to prison for 12 indecent assaults on four girls, and Anthony Blunt, the former art adviser to the Queen who was revealed to be a Soviet spy.

In January 2024, former Post Office boss Paula Vennells said she would hand back her CBE after facing mounting pressure over the Horizon IT scandal.

Twelve months earlier, actor and TV presenter Alan Cumming returned his OBE over what he called the "toxicity" of the British Empire.

What are the different types of honours?

Knights and Dames

The honour of knighthood comes from the days of medieval chivalry, as does the method used to confer the knighthood - the accolade, or the touch of a sword, by the sovereign.

A knight is styled "Sir" and their wife "Lady".

Women receiving the honour are styled "Dame" but do not receive the accolade.

The honour is given for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity.

The rank of Knight Commander (KBE) or Dame Commander (DBE), Order of the British Empire, appears on the Diplomatic Service and Overseas list.

The Order of the Bath

The Order of the Bath is an order of chivalry and was founded in 1725 for service of the highest calibre.

It has a civil and military division and is awarded in the following ranks: Knight Grand Cross (GCB), Knight Commander (KCB) and Companion (CB).

The Order takes its name from the symbolic bathing which, in former times, was often part of the preparation of a candidate for knighthood.

Order of St Michael and St George

This Order was founded by King George III in 1818 and is awarded to British subjects who have rendered extraordinary and important services abroad or in the Commonwealth.

Ranks in the Order are Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCMG), Knight or Dame Commander (KCMG or DCMG) and Companion (CMG).

Order of the Companions of Honour

This is awarded for service of conspicuous national importance and is limited to 65 people. Recipients are entitled to put the initials CH after their name.

Orders of the British Empire

King George V created these honours during World War One to reward services to the war effort by civilians at home and service personnel in support positions.

The ranks are Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE), and Member (MBE).

They are now awarded for prominent national or regional roles, and to those making distinguished or notable contributions in their own specific areas of activity.

British Empire Medal (BEM)

The medal was founded in 1917 and was awarded for "meritorious" actions by civilians or military personnel, although the recipients did not attend a royal investiture.

Scrapped in 1993 by Conservative Prime Minister John Major, the BEM was revived in 2012.

Royal Victorian Order

By 1896, prime ministers and governments had increased their influence over the distribution of awards and had gained almost total control of the system.

In response, Queen Victoria instituted The Royal Victorian Order as a personal award for services performed on behalf of the Royal Family.

The ranks are Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCVO), Knight or Dame Commander (KCVO or DCVO), Commander (CVO), Lieutenant (LVO) and Member (MVO).

Royal Victorian Medal

Associated with the Royal Victorian Order is the Royal Victorian Medal which has three grades: gold, silver and bronze. The circular medal is attached to the ribbon of the Order.

Royal Red Cross

Founded in 1883 by Queen Victoria, the award is confined to the nursing services. Those awarded the First Class are designated "Members" (RRC): those awarded the Second Class are designated "Associates" (ARRC).

King's Police Medal

Awarded for distinguished service in the police force.

King's Fire Service Medal

Given to firefighters who have displayed conspicuous devotion to duty.

King's Ambulance Service Medal

Awarded for distinguished service in the ambulance service.

King's Gallantry Medal

Awarded to civilians, for acts of exemplary bravery.

King's Commendation for Bravery

Awarded to civilians and all ranks of the British armed forces, for actions not in the presence of an enemy.

King's Commendation for Bravery in the Air

Awarded to civilians and all ranks of the British armed forces, for acts of bravery in the air not in the presence of an enemy.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she will take "fair choices" in the Budget as economists continue to predict tax rises to try to balance the books.

Reeves is expected to give a speech to Downing Street later ahead of the 26 November Budget. Labour explicitly ruled out a rise in VAT, National Insurance or income tax in its general election manifesto.

Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said with an "emergency press conference" Reeves was "all but confirming what many feared - higher taxes are on the way". He called for the chancellor to be sacked if she "breaks her promises yet again".

Meanwhile influential think tank the Resolution Foundation has said tax rises are now "inevitable".

Avoiding cuts to VAT, NI or income tax "would do more harm than good", warned the foundation which has close links to Labour - Treasury Minister Torsten Bell was previously its chief executive.

Hiking income tax would be the "best option" for raising cash, it said, but suggested it should be offset by a 2p cut to employee national insurance, which would "raise £6 billion overall while protecting most workers from this tax rise".

Extending the freeze in personal tax thresholds for two more years beyond April 2028 would also raise £7.5 billion, its Autumn Budget 2025 preview suggested.

The chancellor is expected to say in a speech on Tuesday morning that the Budget will focus on "fairness and opportunity" to bring down NHS waiting lists, the national debt and the cost of living.

"You will all have heard a lot of speculation about the choices I will make," she is expected to say.

"I understand that - these are important choices that will shape our economy for years to come.

"But it is important that people understand the circumstances we are facing, the principles guiding my choices – and why I believe they will be the right choices for the country."

The message from Reeves is expected to echo comments made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to a group of Labour MPs on Monday night.

He told those gathered that the Budget would be "a Labour Budget built on Labour values" and that the government would "make the tough but fair decisions to renew our country and build it for the long term".

The government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is widely expected to downgrade its productivity forecasts for the UK at the end of the month. This could add as much as £20 billion to the Chancellor's costs if she is to meet her self-imposed "non-negotiable" rules for government finances.

The two main rules are:

• Not to borrow to fund day-to-day public spending by the end of this parliament

• To get government debt falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament

The Treasury declined to comment on "speculation" ahead of the OBR's final forecast, which will be published on 26 November alongside the Budget.

However last week, the chancellor confirmed both tax rises and spending cuts are options as she aims to give herself "sufficient headroom" against future economic shocks.

The Resolution Foundation said changes in the economic outlook and policy U-turns are likely to reduce the current £9.9 billion of headroom against the chancellor's borrowing rule into a fiscal black hole of around £4 billion.

It urged Reeves to double the level of headroom she has against her fiscal rules to £20 billion. This would "send a clear message to markets that she is serious about fixing the public finances, which in turn should reduce medium-term borrowing costs and make future fiscal events less fraught," its Budget preview said.

It comes after the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said last month there was a "strong case" to increase the headroom. It said the lack of a bigger buffer brought with it instability, and could leave the chancellor "limping from one forecast to the next".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said "heads should roll" at the BBC, following reports that a Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by US President Donald Trump.

The Telegraph said it had seen an internal memo suggesting the programme edited two parts of Trump's speech together so he appeared to explicitly encourage the Capitol Hill riots of January 2021.

Badenoch told GB News the edits were "absolutely shocking", adding that director general Tim Davie should be "identifying who put out misinformation, and sacking them".

A BBC spokesperson said: "While we don't comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

The one-hour programme, Trump: A Second Chance?, was broadcast last year and was made for the BBC by independent production company October Films Ltd, which has also been approached for comment.

In his speech in Washington DC on 6 January 2021, Trump said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women."

However, in Panorama's edit, he was shown saying: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."

The two sections of the speech that were edited together were more than 50 minutes apart.

The "fight like hell" comment was taken from a section where President Trump discussed how "corrupt" US elections were. In total, he used the words "fight" or "fighting" 20 times in the speech.

After showing the president speaking, the programme played footage of flag-waving men marching on the Capitol, the Telegraph said.

According to the leaked memo, this "created the impression President Trump's supporters had taken up his 'call to arms'". But that footage was in fact shot before the president had started speaking.

On 6 January 2021, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, protesting about Joe Biden's election victory. Five people died in relation to the riot.

The House of Representatives accused Trump of encouraging violence with false claims of election fraud, but he was acquitted of an impeachment charge that he incited a mob to storm the Capitol.

According to the Telegraph, the document said Panorama's "distortion of the day's events" would leave viewers asking: "Why should the BBC be trusted, and where will this all end?"

When the issue was raised with managers, the memo continued, they "refused to accept there had been a breach of standards".

Speaking to GB News on Tuesday, Badenoch said: "That is fake news, actually putting different things together to make something look different from what it actually was.

"And I do think heads should roll. Whoever it was who did that should be sacked, that's what Tim Davie should be doing, identifying who put out misinformation, and sacking them."

She continued: "The public need to be able to trust our public broadcaster... They should not be telling us things that are not true.

"This is a corporation that needs to hold itself to the highest standards, and that means that when we see people doing the wrong thing, they should be punished, they should be sacked."

Former prime minister Boris Johnson also said the corporation needed to respond, asking on X: "Is anyone at the BBC going to take responsibility - and resign?"

The Telegraph said the report it had obtained about BBC bias was written by Michael Prescott, formerly an independent external adviser to the broadcaster's editorial guidelines and standards committee. He left the role in June.

The newspaper said a whistleblower sent a copy of the 19-page dossier to every member of the BBC board last month. BBC News has not seen a copy of the memo.

In its statement, the BBC said: "Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated."

BBC News has approached Mr Prescott for comment.

Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage, chairwoman of the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee, said: "At a time when trust in both politics and mainstream media is so low, our state broadcaster has an additional responsibility to ensure that it reports contentious and potentially inflammatory issues with a straight bat.

"These allegations are extremely worrying and come at a critical time for the BBC. The DCMS committee will meet tomorrow and will no doubt discuss the implications of this."

Downing Street said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and senior officials in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have received a copy of the internal memo, and have been assured by the BBC that the corporation is examining the issues it raises.

The prime minister's spokesman said: "We take any criticisms of the BBC's editorial standards very seriously and we expect the BBC to consider any feedback that they receive seriously and carefully."

Kim Kardashian may be weeks away from finding out if she's passed her law exams, but she says practising divorce law is not in her future.

The 45-year-old, who plays divorce attorney Allura Grant in the Disney+ upcoming legal drama All's Fair, tells the BBC she's "more into criminal justice and reform work" and adds, "I don't think I can ever really do family law".

Kardashian has been studying to become a lawyer for the last six years, undertaking an apprenticeship that negates the need for a university degree.

"It was the wildest idea that I was going to law school - but to me it all makes sense and I hope that I'm forever curious and always want to try new things," she says.

Kardashian, who has four children with ex-husband Kanye West, also runs fashion and shapewear brand SKIMS and appears in the reality series The Kardashians with her family.

Her interest in criminal justice has been documented on her reality TV shows, where she has advocated for prison reform in the US and sentence reduction for first-time offenders.

Not content with her already packed-out schedule, her recent pivot to acting has raised eyebrows - but it hasn't dented Kardashian's ambition.

"I guess I just don't live in those expectation boxes," she says.

She says she "loves taking on constructive criticism" but doesn't understand why people think she "can't do something that you want to do or are curious or want to learn about".

Her first real introduction to acting was her 2023 casting in the 12th season of American Horror Story, in which she appeared as a publicist.

Kardashian received mostly positive critical reviews for her portrayal, which encouraged her to take on more acting roles.

All's Fair reunites the star with American Horror Story showrunner Ryan Murphy, who is also behind hit series such as Glee and Pose.

His latest project, All's Fair, is a legal drama set in the US, which sees Kardashian play a divorce lawyer alongside Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, Niecy Nash and Teyana Taylor.

Kardashian says her priority was to "come in prepared" to set, adding she would spend every day "watching and learning from these women", who she called "the best acting coaches in the world".

She adds that there was a lot of pressure on her, because those behind the show were "taking a chance on working with me".

"The last thing I would want to do is be unprofessional, be late or not know my lines," she says.

'I've experienced it with my family'

All's Fair, which Disney+ says holds the records for their most-watched trailer of all time, is a spectacular dramatisation of the lives of lawyers tasked with navigating divorce for rich and famous female clients.

Kardashian says divorce is "such a relatable topic" after experiencing it "with my family and parents growing up".

Kardashian herself has been divorced three times - most recently to Kanye West in 2022 after eight years of marriage.

Whilst she says the stories of the women in the show "are not based on anything I've been through", she was "definitely inspired" by practising to be a lawyer.

Kardashian's co-star Watts also recognises that, whilst the show might be sensationalised, the story of "women who feel like they're finished, [their lives] are all over, broken and in pieces" at the end of a relationship is one that is familiar for many.

Nash, who stars as a legal investigator in the show, says that divorce is something many "have in common with other women and celebrities" and thinks the show is so appealing due to its relatability, even if it's more dramatic way than real life.

Paulson adds says that although the central theme of the show may be divorce, "conflict and resolution is a beautiful part of the show", which also "tackles big, important and emotional relationships".

'Ryan Murphy's magic'

Much of the talk around the show has been about the strength of the all-female cast, which is filled with some of Hollywood's biggest names.

The cast all echo that it was Ryan Murphy - who has won six Emmy awards, a Tony award and two Grammy awards in his 25-year career in television, film and theatre - that convinced them to sign up.

"He [Murphy] calls and I don't tend to say no to him," Paulson jokes.

Paulson is perhaps one of Murphy's greatest collaborators, having appeared in nine series of American Horror Story between 2011 and 2021.

Kardashian says the cast all went into the project "blindly" but it was great to see Murphy's "magic come to life".

"Ryan was really intentional in that way, he really loves to uplift women and make these female-led casts, which is super empowering. He wrote it that way, he saw it no other way," she adds.

Watts also agrees, noting that the writer and producer "manages to identify spaces that haven't necessarily been visited before".

"He's wonderful at creating stories for women of a certain age and for me that's where I am at in my life.

"These women all get to do these incredible things together - we're such a different group - different ages and everything and we're supporting each other through the story," Watts adds.

Murphy received a five-year developmental deal with Netflix in 2018, which was reportedly worth $300m (£228m).

During that time he made two true crime series for the streaming service - Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, plus drama series The Politician.

Murphy now has a new deal with Disney+, which includes All's Fair.

He serves as executive producer on the show alongside Kardashian, Close, Paulson, Watts and Nash.

Kris Jenner, Kardashian's mother and manager, also receives a director credit.

King Charles has knighted former England football captain Sir David Beckham at Windsor Castle.

Beckham was awarded a knighthood in the King's Birthday Honours in June, alongside actor Gary Oldman and musician Roger Daltrey.

UK Honours typically celebrate the contribution of well-known personalities, government employees and ordinary people who have served their community.

When are UK honours awarded?

Most UK honours are awarded on the monarch's official birthday in June and at the new year.

The 2025 Birthday Honours also made Dames of author Pat Barker and singer Elaine Page, while Strictly Come Dancing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were awarded OBEs.

The reality TV personality Georgia Harrison was made an MBE for her work on online privacy after her former partner was jailed for sharing a video of them having sex.

In the most recent New Year Honours, actor Stephen Fry, former England football manager Gareth Southgate and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were among those knighted.

The list also included an MBE for Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson, and CBEs for services to drama for actresses Sarah Lancashire and Carey Mulligan.

Dissolution honours are typically given to politicians when Parliament ends before a general election.

Outgoing prime ministers can also award resignation honours.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak named 36 people in his resignation honours list - most of whom were high-profile former Conservative ministers, and advisors.

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both issued resignation honours when they left office in 2022.

Johnson's controversial list initially contained eight names rejected by the body which approves appointments to the House of Lords.

Truss was widely criticised for submitting an honours list after only 49 days in the job.

How are people chosen for honours?

The New Year and King's Birthday honours are awarded by the King following recommendations by the prime minister or senior government ministers.

Members of the public can also recommend people for an award. These nominations typically make up about a quarter of all recommendations.

Honours' lists include awards for people who:

• have made significant achievements in public life
• committed themselves to serving and helping Britain

Resignation and dissolution honours are decided by the relevant prime minister and do not go through the same process.

The Foreign Office has responsibility for the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List. Honorary awards for foreign nationals are recommended by the foreign secretary.

Honours are traditionally kept confidential until the official announcement.

How and when do people get their honours?

Honours are typically awarded by the King, Prince of Wales or Princess Royal, at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Recipients can select their investiture's date and location but not which member of the Royal Family will preside over the ceremony.

British Empire Medals are presented locally by lord-lieutenants, who represent the King.

How are nominees vetted?

People in line for an honour are checked by the Honours and Appointments Secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office government department.

The Cabinet Office has agreements with other government departments to let it access confidential information about nominees.

For example, HMRC provides a low, medium or high-risk rating on a nominee's tax affairs.

Peerages are vetted by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

A Parliamentary and Political Services Committee considers honours for politicians and for political service.

Can you turn down an honour?

When somebody is approved for an honour, they are sent a letter asking if they will accept it.

A list of 277 people who turned down honours between 1951 and 1999 - and subsequently died - was made public following a BBC Freedom of Information request.

It included authors Roald Dahl, JG Ballard and Aldous Huxley, and painters Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud and LS Lowry.

The late poet Benjamin Zephaniah rejected an OBE in 2003 because of the association with the British Empire and its history of slavery.

• Eight musicians who declined a British honour

Can an honour be removed?

Some people have had their honours withdrawn by the Honours Forfeiture Committee.

They include disgraced former entertainer Rolf Harris, who went to prison for 12 indecent assaults on four girls, and Anthony Blunt, the former art adviser to the Queen who was revealed to be a Soviet spy.

In January 2024, former Post Office boss Paula Vennells said she would hand back her CBE after facing mounting pressure over the Horizon IT scandal.

Twelve months earlier, actor and TV presenter Alan Cumming returned his OBE over what he called the "toxicity" of the British Empire.

What are the different types of honours?

Knights and Dames

The honour of knighthood comes from the days of medieval chivalry, as does the method used to confer the knighthood - the accolade, or the touch of a sword, by the sovereign.

A knight is styled "Sir" and their wife "Lady".

Women receiving the honour are styled "Dame" but do not receive the accolade.

The honour is given for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity.

The rank of Knight Commander (KBE) or Dame Commander (DBE), Order of the British Empire, appears on the Diplomatic Service and Overseas list.

The Order of the Bath

The Order of the Bath is an order of chivalry and was founded in 1725 for service of the highest calibre.

It has a civil and military division and is awarded in the following ranks: Knight Grand Cross (GCB), Knight Commander (KCB) and Companion (CB).

The Order takes its name from the symbolic bathing which, in former times, was often part of the preparation of a candidate for knighthood.

Order of St Michael and St George

This Order was founded by King George III in 1818 and is awarded to British subjects who have rendered extraordinary and important services abroad or in the Commonwealth.

Ranks in the Order are Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCMG), Knight or Dame Commander (KCMG or DCMG) and Companion (CMG).

Order of the Companions of Honour

This is awarded for service of conspicuous national importance and is limited to 65 people. Recipients are entitled to put the initials CH after their name.

Orders of the British Empire

King George V created these honours during World War One to reward services to the war effort by civilians at home and service personnel in support positions.

The ranks are Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE), and Member (MBE).

They are now awarded for prominent national or regional roles, and to those making distinguished or notable contributions in their own specific areas of activity.

British Empire Medal (BEM)

The medal was founded in 1917 and was awarded for "meritorious" actions by civilians or military personnel, although the recipients did not attend a royal investiture.

Scrapped in 1993 by Conservative Prime Minister John Major, the BEM was revived in 2012.

Royal Victorian Order

By 1896, prime ministers and governments had increased their influence over the distribution of awards and had gained almost total control of the system.

In response, Queen Victoria instituted The Royal Victorian Order as a personal award for services performed on behalf of the Royal Family.

The ranks are Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCVO), Knight or Dame Commander (KCVO or DCVO), Commander (CVO), Lieutenant (LVO) and Member (MVO).

Royal Victorian Medal

Associated with the Royal Victorian Order is the Royal Victorian Medal which has three grades: gold, silver and bronze. The circular medal is attached to the ribbon of the Order.

Royal Red Cross

Founded in 1883 by Queen Victoria, the award is confined to the nursing services. Those awarded the First Class are designated "Members" (RRC): those awarded the Second Class are designated "Associates" (ARRC).

King's Police Medal

Awarded for distinguished service in the police force.

King's Fire Service Medal

Given to firefighters who have displayed conspicuous devotion to duty.

King's Ambulance Service Medal

Awarded for distinguished service in the ambulance service.

King's Gallantry Medal

Awarded to civilians, for acts of exemplary bravery.

King's Commendation for Bravery

Awarded to civilians and all ranks of the British armed forces, for actions not in the presence of an enemy.

King's Commendation for Bravery in the Air

Awarded to civilians and all ranks of the British armed forces, for acts of bravery in the air not in the presence of an enemy.

It's Election Day in the US.

This so-called "off year" election doesn't feature presidential or congressional races, but there are still several critical votes to watch tonight.

New York City will choose its next mayor, in a battle that has pitted a younger, progressive Democrat against a member of the party's old guard. The states of Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors, and the outcome of these contests could be bellwethers for next year's congressional midterm elections.

Californians also will decide whether to redraw their US House district maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting, as Democrats try to counter Republicans' efforts to give their party an advantage in next year's midterm elections.

Here's what you need to know.

New York City mayoral race

All eyes will be on the Big Apple as Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, attempts a political upset in his bid to become New York City's youngest mayor in over a century.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked the political establishment when he bested former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Cuomo, undeterred, has continued to campaign as an independent. Meanwhile, Republican Curtis Sliwa has resisted pressure to drop out of the race to clear a path for Cuomo.

• New Yorkers could pick a political newcomer to run their city - and take on Trump
• Trump backs Cuomo for New York City mayor and threatens to cut funding if Mamdani wins
• Who is Zohran Mamdani?

If Mamdani wins, he will become the city's first Muslim mayor. Democrats around the country will be watching to see if his laser-focus on cost-of-living issues like rent, groceries and wages could serve as effective messaging in future races.

Though Mamdani heads into election night with a suggested polling lead, the gap between him and Cuomo has narrowed. In the final stretch of the campaign, Cuomo has hammered Mamdani on crime and public safety, and said the young politician lacks the experience to lead America's biggest city.

California redistricting

California's Democratic leadership is asking voters for permission to redraw the state's congressional districts in the middle of the decade. That's unusual in California, which by law relies on a nonpartisan committee to draw its congressional maps once every decade, based on census data.

However, as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri seek to hastily redraw their congressional maps to give their party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to counter the losses with redistricting in his own state.

California's Proposition 50 would allow the temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. The campaign has drawn $158 million in donations, according to the Los Angeles Times, with Democratic proponents vastly outraising the Republican opposition effort.

Republicans in California, who hold only nine of the state's 52 US House seats, staunchly oppose the plan.

A University of California Berkeley/IGS Poll suggests 60% of likely California voters support Proposition 50, while 38% oppose it. The breakdown was highly partisan, with 93% of Democrats saying they would choose "yes" and 91% of Republicans choosing "no."

New Jersey governor's race

New Jersey is considered a blue state, but polls indicate a close race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. It's one of the two governor's races this year that could indicate how Americans feel about the current political climate.

Sherrill currently represents New Jersey's 11th District in Congress, and Ciattarelli is a former state assemblyman.

New Jersey is considered a Democratic-leaning state, but has had Republican governors. The last one, Chris Christie, served two terms between 2010 and 2018.

Rhetoric in the race has been heated. Ciattarelli and his supporters have run political advertisements featuring clips of Sherrill giving halting answers in interviews about her policies.

It also has drawn the attention of nationally known names from both parties. Democratic stars like former president Barack Obama and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg have campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended a virtual rally for Ciattarelli, and conservative activist Jack Posobiec has backed him.

Virginia governor's race

Virginia's leadership usually swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year's gubernatorial election might serve as a bellwether for the electorate's mood.

No matter which candidate succeeds, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a US congresswoman, and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the state's current lieutenant governor.

If Earle-Sears wins, she will become the first black woman elected to lead a US state in the nation's history.

Virginia is bordered by the liberal-leaning Washington, DC to the north where many residents work in the nation's capitol or for the federal government. But the state also has deep pockets of conservative voters throughout its rural districts, and swing voters.

Spanberger has highlighted the economic impact of Trump's cuts to the federal government, which have impacted Virginia's employment. Earle-Sears has touted Virginia's economy under Republican leadership. But she also has leaned into cultural topics like transgender issues, which Republicans used successfully as a wedge issue in last year's presidential election.

The Donald Trump factor

Though he's not on the ballot, Trump's name looms over this election.

The New York City mayor's race is how the next leader of the city will deal with the Trump administration, which has meddled in the city's politics. Cuomo is pitching his experience as governor dealing with the first administration as a reason for voters to choose him.

The president has implied that he will penalize the city if voters choose Mamdani.

"It's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there," Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday. (Mamdani is not a communist.)

Trump kicked off the redistricting battle that led California to put Proposition 50 on the ballot, and has endorsed Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor's race.

Post Office campaigner Sir Alan Bates has reached a settlement with the government, more than 20 years after he started campaigning for justice for victims of the Horizon scandal.

Sir Alan led a group of 555 subpostmasters who took part in a landmark legal action against the Post Office.

The sum paid to Sir Alan has not been made public.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 900 subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted after the faulty Horizon IT system indicated shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts.

Hundreds more poured their own savings into their branch to make up apparent shortfalls in order to avoid prosecution.

Marriages broke down, and some families believe the stress led to serious health conditions, addiction and even premature death.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "We pay tribute to Sir Alan Bates for his long record of campaigning on behalf of victims.

"We can confirm that Sir Alan's claim has reached the end of the scheme process and been settled."

The Department has now paid "over £1.2 billion to more than 9,000 victims".

The Post Office/Horizon scandal reached new heights in the public consciousness after Sir Alan's campaign for justice was portrayed in the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

Earlier this year, Sir Alan accused the government of putting forward a "take it or leave it" offer of compensation amounting to less than half of his claim.

Many victims have previously complained about being forced to accept low offers of compensation, without the benefit of legal help.

Last month, the government announced that all victims who are claiming compensation will now be entitled to free legal advice to help them with their offers.

There are four different compensation schemes, which are aimed at different groups of victims.

Individual eligibility for compensation depends on the particular circumstances of each case.

However, the schemes have been criticised for being too slow and complicated, with many of the worst-affected victims receiving far less than their original claims.

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The very first humans millions of years ago may have been inventors, according to a discovery in northwest Kenya.

Researchers have found that the primitive humans who lived 2.75 million years ago at an archaeological site called Namorotukunan used stone tools continuously for 300,000 years.

Evidence previously suggested that early human tool use was sporadic: randomly developed and quickly forgotten.

The Namorotukunan find is the first to show that the technology was passed down through thousands of generations.

According to Prof David Braun, of George Washington University, in Washington DC, who led the research, this find, published in the journal Nature Communications, provides incredibly strong evidence for a radical shake-up in our understanding of human evolution.

"We thought that tool use could have been a flash in the pan and then disappeared. When we see 300,000 years of the same thing, that's just not possible," he said.

"This is a long continuity of behaviour. That tool use in (humans and human ancestors) is probably much earlier and more continuous than we thought it was."

Archaeologists spent ten years at Namorotukunan uncovering 1,300 sharp flakes, hammerstones, and stone cores, each made by carefully striking rocks gathered from riverbeds. These are made using a technology known as Oldowan and is the first widespread stone tool-making method.

The same kinds of tools appear in three distinct layers. The deeper the layer the further back the snapshot in time. Many of the stones were specially chosen for their quality, suggesting that the makers were skilled and knew exactly what they were looking for, according to the senior geoscientist on the research team, Dr Dan Palcu Rolier of the University of São Paulo in Brazil.

"What we see here in the site is an incredible level of sophistication," he told BBC News.

"These guys were extremely astute geologists. They knew how to find the best raw materials and these stone tools are exceptional. Basically, we can cut our fingers with some of them."

Geological evidence suggests that tool use probably helped these people survive dramatic changes in climate.

The landscape shifted from lush wetlands to dry, fire-swept grasslands and semideserts," said Rahab N. Kinyanjui, senior scientist at the National Museums of Kenya.

These sharp environmental changes would normally force animal populations to adapt through evolution or move away. But the toolmakers in the region managed to thrive by using technology rather than biological adaptation, according to Dr Palcu Rolier.

"Technology enabled these early inhabitants of East Turkana to survive in a rapidly changing landscape - not by adapting themselves, but adapting their ways of finding food."

The evidence of stone tools at different layers shows that for a long and continuous period, these primitive people flew in the face of biological evolution, finding a way of controlling the world around them, rather than letting the world control them.

And this happened at the very beginning of the emergence of humanity, according to Dr Palcu Rolier.

"Tool use meant that they did not have to evolve by modifying their bodies to adapt to these changes. Instead, they developed the technology they needed to get access to the food: tools for ripping open animal carcasses and digging up plants."

There is evidence for this at the site: of animal bones being broken, being cut with these stone tools, which means that through these changes, they were consistently able to use meat as a way of sustenance.

"The technology gives these early inhabitants an advantage, says Dr Palcu Rolier.

"They are able to access different types of foods as environments change, their source of sustenance is changing, but because they have this technology, they can bypass these challenges and access new food."

At around 2.75 million years ago, the region was populated by some of the very first humans, who had relatively small brains. These early humans are thought to have lived alongside their evolutionary ancestors: a pre-human group, called australopithecines, who had larger teeth and a mix of chimpanzee and human traits.

The tool users at Namorotukunan were most likely one of these groups or possibly both.

And the finding challenges the notion held by many experts in human evolution that continuous tool use emerged much later, between 2.4 and 2.2 million years ago, when humans had evolved relatively larger brains, according to Prof Braun.

"The argument is that we're looking at a pretty substantial brain size increase. And so, often the assertion has been that tool use allowed them to feed this large brain.

"But what we're seeing at Namorotukunan is that these really early tools are used before that brain size increase."

"We have probably vastly underestimated these early humans and human ancestors. We can actually trace the roots of our ability to adapt to change by using technology much earlier than we thought, all the way to 2.75 million years ago, and probably much earlier."

On Saturday night a train from Doncaster bound for London was dramatically diverted after an alarm was raised on board. A man armed with a large knife, who is believed to have joined the train at Peterborough, carried out a vicious attack on multiple victims. Within 20 minutes a suspect had been arrested in Cambridgeshire, more than 70 miles from the train's intended destination of King's Cross in London.

Eleven people were treated in hospital, where one person remains in a stable but critical condition. The BBC has spoken to train passengers and stabbing victims alongside video and police statements to build a picture of how the attack and the emergency response unfolded.

'You need to run, you need to run'

The attack started just over an hour after the LNER train left Doncaster. At 19:29 it had pulled out of Peterborough station, where the suspect had apparently boarded. Just five minutes later the alarm was pulled near the middle of the train in coach J.

Amira Ostalski and a friend, both students at Nottingham University, had got on the train at the previous stop of Grantham and were travelling to London to "have some fun".

Amira was seated watching a film when she saw a man in a white shirt leap out of his seat about five rows in front of her followed by screams of "knife, knife". Amira then spotted a man holding a large kitchen knife and fled towards the rear of the train with her friend.

In the next carriage, coach H, YouTuber Olly Foster heard shouts of "run, run, there's a guy literally stabbing everyone", and initially thought it was a Halloween prank. But as passengers began pushing through the carriage Olly could see "blood all over the chair" he had leaned on, covering his hand in blood.

Olly then saw an older man, thought to be an LNER staff member, who "blocked" the attacker from stabbing a younger girl, leaving him with a gash on his head and neck.

Nottingham Forest fan Joe, 24, was not meant to be on the train. He had watched the team's football match against Manchester United earlier and missed a connecting train in Grantham.

Joe was texting his friends about his plans for the night when people came rushing through the carriage. "You need to run, you need to run," someone told Joe. He started running but when he turned to look behind him saw "a tall black male" holding "a bloodied knife".

Matt Kingston took his headphones out as he saw a group of people heading his way in coach H and also began running down the train. Another Nottingham Forest fan Alistair Day, 58, was next to the train's cafe bar in coach G, and saw people fleeing down the train with blood on their clothes.

Sheltering inside the cafe

The train's cafe bar transformed into an impromptu hiding space for those fleeing the attacker. Alistair said he saw around a dozen people inside this enclosed buffet counter in coach G and they were "trying to close up the shutters" to protect themselves from the assailant. Matt had managed to get inside the booth with the others.

Alistair saw the man near the door waving a knife and trying to open the shutters, which by then had been locked. A video he provided to the BBC from inside the cafe bar shows multiple passengers inside, with at least one on the phone to emergency services. Alistair and another witness, Tom McLaughlan, told the BBC they saw a Nottingham Forest fan move to confront the attacker. "He wasn't the biggest guy. We tried to stop him," Alistair said.

It appears they were referring to Stephen Crean who later told the BBC the man pulled out a large knife when he confronted him outside the cafe bar. "He's gone for me and there was a tussle in the arms and that's where my hand, the fingers are really bad, four cuts through them, sliced. And then he raised it and must have caught me when I was ducking and diving and caught me on the head."

Stephen said he had been trying to give another passenger time to close the door to the cafe bar. "That door still wasn't shut behind me, because I could still see him struggling to close it. So until I knew it was I wasn't moving away from it."

Matt said the attacker then walked past the locked door while waving the knife around. "He then returned back up the train and passed us again." At that point a young man told Matt he'd been stabbed in the chest "so I helped with putting pressure on the wound and helped hold him up".

Another victim of the train attack was Scunthorpe United footballer Jonathan Gjoshe, who was slashed across the bicep and later needed an operation.

Alarm raised and train diverted

As soon as the alarm was raised the train driver, Andrew Johnson, a Royal Navy veteran, sprang into action and contacted the control centre. The decision was made to divert the train, which was travelling at 125mph (201km/h), to a slow track, which allowed it stop at Huntingdon Station just minutes after the emergency services were first called.

The East of England Ambulance Service received the first emergency call at 19:38. A minute later, Cambridgeshire police received a report about multiple stabbings on a train. Together, they mobilised a response team outside Huntingdon Station, just under 300m away from the police force's headquarters. At 19:41 the train arrived at the station, a minute before British Transport Police were also called to the incident.

Escape at Huntingdon Station

CCTV footage captured by a business in its car park shows passengers running up platform two towards the main station building. A dramatic TikTok video, filmed from a bridge on Brampton Road overlooking the rail tracks and station, shows police officers running towards the train along the same platform.

Tom saw two men who appeared to have been stabbed "covered in blood" as he fled the train. Alistair said he saw a man who had been in the cafe bar with him being carried towards an ambulance by paramedics. "I just want to know he's okay," he said.

Emergency services took 10 people to hospital where a further victim was treated. Six patients have since been discharged.

The LNER staff member who remains in a critical but stable condition "undoubtedly saved people's lives" by trying to stop the attacker, British Transport Police said.

Forced to flee again

CCTV footage shows a man climbing a fence at the station at 19:43 to an adjacent car park while holding a knife.

Amira, who had been hiding at the back of coach G armed with a metal tray to fight off the attacker if necessary, had run to the car park with her friend for safety when they got off the train.

But they saw the man walk in their direction. Fearing for their lives, they hid in a taxi. An image captured by Amira's friend through its windscreen shows the man being detained by six police officers near several bins in the car park, around 50m (160ft) from the fence.

Video filmed from a separate taxi nearby shows the officers armed with guns, Tasers and accompanied by a dog detaining a man on the ground. Clicks from the Taser are audible in the footage.

By 19:50 police had two men in custody, 32-year-old Anthony Williams, and a 35-year-old man who was released a day later after police established he was not involved. On Monday morning Williams appeared in court charged with 10 counts of attempted murder over the train attack.

Additional reporting by Adam Durbin.

Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, had a glittering - if controversial - career in American public life.

He served as President Gerald Ford's White House chief of staff in the 1970s, before spending a decade in the House of Representatives.

President George H. W. Bush made him defence secretary during the first Gulf War and the US invasion of Panama.

In 2001, Cheney became one of the most powerful vice presidents in history.

He was a key architect of President George W. Bush's 'War on Terror' after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and an early advocate of the invasion of Iraq.

But, in his final years, he became a bitter critic of the Republican party under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

"In our nation's 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic," Cheney said.

Richard Bruce Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on 30 January 1941.

His father worked for the US Department of Agriculture, while his mother had been a successful softball player in the 1930s.

When he was 13, his family moved to Casper, an oil town in Wyoming. In 1959, Cheney entered Yale on a scholarship, but failed to graduate.

He confessed that he fell in with “some kindred souls, young men like me who were not adjusting very well [to Yale] and shared my opinion that beer was one of the essentials of life.”

He went on to gain a Master's degree in political science from the University of Wyoming but - like his future boss, George W. Bush, he continued to party.

In his early 20s, Cheney was twice convicted of drink driving. The incidents focused his mind on the future.

"I was headed down a bad road if I continued on that course," he said.

In 1959, when he became eligible to be drafted for military service, Cheney made the most of every legal avenue to avoid putting on a uniform.

He obtained a string of deferments, first so that he could finish his college course and then when his new wife, Lynne became pregnant.

"I don't regret the decisions I made," he said later. "I complied fully with all the requirements of the statutes, registered with the draft when I turned 18. Had I been drafted, I would have been happy to serve."

Surprisingly this did not become a major campaign issue when he was running for the Vice-Presidency, even after Cheney questioned the ability of the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry - himself a Vietnam veteran - to serve as commander in chief.

Dick Cheney's first taste of Washington came in 1968 when he worked for William Steiger, a young republican representative from Wisconsin.

Legend has it that he caught the eye of Donald Rumsfeld, former defence secretary, then about to take over at the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) under President Richard Nixon.

Rumsfeld mentored Cheney, first in the OEO, and then in the Ford White House.

When Gerald Ford made Rumsfeld his defence secretary in 1975, Cheney found himself chief of staff at the White House. He was just 34 years old.

Eschewing the standard limousine for his battered VW Beetle, Dick Cheney proved a popular and approachable master of ceremonies.

"He made the system run," said Brent Scowcroft, Ford's national security adviser. "Everybody had access to the president, but it was smooth, orderly. He didn't try to be a deputy president."

When Ford lost the presidency in 1976, Cheney returned to Wyoming and stood for its House of Representatives seat.

But, weeks into the campaign and smoking three packets of cigarettes a day, he had the first of his many heart attacks.

While he was recuperating, Lynne continued to campaign on his behalf - and Cheney was returned with an impressive 59% of the vote.

During his decade in the House, he gained himself the reputation as a drier-than-dry conservative, enthusiastically supporting Ronald Reagan's huge Cold War increases in defence spending.

More controversially, he opposed the release of Nelson Mandela from jail and was one of only 21 congressmen to vote against the prohibition of armour-piercing "cop killer" bullets.

Early in 1989, he was given the chance of higher office when President George H. W. Bush's nominee for defence secretary, Senator John Tower, was forced to withdraw amid allegations of heavy drinking and womanising.

Bush needed a congressman with a good reputation to take over at the Pentagon. He chose Dick Cheney and the Senate approved the choice without opposition.

Cheney's years at defence were some of the most momentous since the end of World War Two. The Berlin Wall and the Soviet empire collapsed and the United States was left to rethink its whole doctrine.

Although hawkish by nature, he oversaw a huge post-Cold War reduction in the military budget - where the number of servicemen and women fell from 2.2 million to 1.8 million.

Most of all, though, his time at the Pentagon will be remembered for the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq.

He took the lead in advocating military force against Saddam Hussein, whose troops had invaded Kuwait.

He persuaded Saudi Arabia's King Fahd to allow the deployment of more than 400,000 United States troops on his territory in the lead-up to Operation Desert Storm.

Dick Cheney flew to Riyadh to plan the attack with his generals. After a five week air campaign, coalition forces began a ground war.

Within 100 hours, Iraq's army had been routed.

Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf received the ticker-tape parades. But Dick Cheney, as much as his soldiers, deserved credit for the success of Desert Storm.

Bill Clinton's presidential election victory in 1992 saw Cheney leave Washington once again.

This time he became CEO of Halliburton, a huge multinational company that is a leading supplier of equipment to the oil industry. There he remained, until summoned back to public life by George Bush Jnr.

Initially, he was asked to chair the search for someone to be vice president. But, having reviewed his recommendations, the young presidential candidate asked Dick Cheney if he would join him on the ticket.

After the attacks on 11 September 2001, Cheney was isolated from the president for a number of weeks - taken to an "undisclosed location" - in order to secure the succession if George W. Bush should be killed.

He was a leading advocate of US military action in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He insisted that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction, and saw his defeat as the finishing of old business.

Cheney was a strong supporter of waterboarding captured terrorist suspects, declaring himself to be a "strong proponent of our enhanced interrogation techniques".

But it was his close links to, and long experience in Congress which made him a new type of vice-president. Cheney kept offices in the Capitol building as well as near the commander-in-chief, so as to be at the heart of the legislative process.

He played an influential role in keeping Bush's tax policies conservative, and rolling back environmental protections that were hampering American businesses.

Cheney had the ear of the president at all times and was never slow in using his privileged access to by-pass other senior members of the administration.

He did so to some effect in 2001, when he persuaded Bush to sign an order stripping captured foreign terrorist suspects of their legal rights.

This was to the anger of the Secretary of State, Colin Powell who first heard about the decision when it was broadcast on the news channel, CNN.

In October 2002, and later in July 2007, while President Bush was undergoing medical procedures, Cheney became acting president for a few hours under the terms of the 25th Amendment.

But his inability to shepherd legislation through Congress brought accusations that Mr Cheney was a liability.

And, even though George W Bush said that he would retain his running mate for 2004, there was pressure in Republican circles to dump him.

The president stood firm and Cheney played a central role in the decisive victory against John Kerry and his running mate John Edwards.

There was one exception to his conservatism which emerged during the campaign.

He opposed a constitutional ban on gay marriage - supported by President Bush - because his daughter Mary was a lesbian.

Cheney announced that - although the final decision should be left to individual states - he was personally in favour of marriage equality. "Freedom means freedom for everyone," he said.

His reputation became damaged when it emerged that Halliburton had won the contract to restore Iraq's oil industry, and that he was to receive $500,000 in deferred compensation from the company.

More controversy was to follow. In 2005, his former chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby was indicted on charges relating to the leaking of a CIA agent's identity to the press.

And in 2006, after intense pressure from politicians and the media, Cheney was forced to take responsibility for accidentally shooting a hunting companion.

Harry Whittington, 78, was left with 30 pellets in his body, leading to a minor heart attack. Mr Cheney later called the incident "one of the worst days of my life".

The unfortunate episode became fodder for US late-night comedians and was seized upon by opponents as a damaging political metaphor - showing Cheney blasting away at the wrong target.

The vice president also grew worried that terrorists might try and assassinate him, by sending an electronic signal to his pacemaker - having seen a fictional version of this plot on the TV series, Homeland.

"I was aware of the danger that existed," he late wrote. "I knew from the experience we had and the necessity for adjusting my own device that it was an accurate portrayal of what was possible."

The pacemaker was taken out and replaced with one that had no connection to wifi.

After eight-years as vice-president, the man widely seen as the architect of President Bush's "war on terror" left office in January 2009.

He became a critic of the Obama administration's national security policies, opposing plans to close the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He lashed out at his vice presidential successor, Joe Biden, calling him "dead wrong" for saying another attack on the scale of 11 September 2001 was unlikely.

After a full heart transplant in 2012, he remained an active political figure. And, despite decades working for Republican presidents, he became a bitter opponent of President Donald Trump.

Having initially endorsed him in 2016, Cheney was appalled by allegations of Russian interference in the presidential election and Trump's seemingly casual attitude towards Nato.

He supported his older daughter, Liz, as she became a leading Republican 'never Trump' in the House of Representatives - and condemned the refusal to accept the result of the 2020 election.

Dick Cheney later published a statement that he would vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

It was an action that guaranteed that he will be remembered with mixed emotions on both sides of the political aisle.

For years, Cheney was a hero to the Republican right for his forthright manner and dry-as-dust ideological beliefs - and reviled by the left, who accused him of working for the interests of the oil industry.

But, he ended up supporting gay marriage and a Democratic party presidential candidate - while his frequent attacks on Donald Trump destroyed his relationship with his former party.

The chancellor's pitch: the Budget will be painful, due to the actions of others, but it will be worth it, to tackle debt, help public services and promote growth.

How does that add up?

Rachel Reeves pinned the need for expected tax rises on the actions of previous governments – post-Brexit trading arrangements, austerity – as the underlying reasons for a disappointing assessment by the official forecasters of the economy's productivity.

That productivity has been held back by years of poor investment, and improvements have been slow. Lower productivity means weaker growth in the economy, hitting tax income and affecting assumptions about how much money the chancellor has to find to meet her financial rules.

Reeves also pointed to other external forces - tariffs and supply chain disruption – for the underwhelming performance of growth and inflation.

But some of these were foreseeable. Even if the official assessment is worse than thought, productivity - a measure of the output of the economy per hour worked - has long been problematic.

And when it comes to external factors, President Trump's trade hostilities, for example, are expected to have a very limited impact on growth.

Economists say the chancellor may need tax rises totalling some £30bn to meet her financial rules by a comfortable margin.

Reeves accused past Conservative governments of prioritising political convenience, but her fiscal position also reflects similar actions by her own government.

The public purse is having to find several billions of pounds to fund U-turns over welfare and Winter Fuel Payments.

Analysts, including those at the Bank of England, also point to the chancellor's own tax rises in last year's Budget as hindering growth and employment, and adding to inflation pressures this year.

It was always risky for Reeves to suggest she wouldn't be back for another hefty tax raid. She met her financial rules by only a slim margin last year. The gamble didn't pay off, but it can't just be blamed on ill winds from elsewhere.

It now appears that taxes are going to rise – and significantly. The chancellor argues money is needed to support the extra funding that has been put into public services, but the performance of these services depends on more than just cash.

Official figures indicate that in the year after Labour came to power, the public sector, and in particular healthcare, became less efficient as productivity dropped. There's more work to be done if we're to get bang for our buck.

For the actual detail on which taxes will rise, we'll have to wait until the Budget.

But by skirting around the issue of whether manifesto pledges will be adhered to, while claiming to have inherited a dire environment, the chancellor has stoked speculation that income tax rates may rise.

The pledges of not increasing the main rates of VAT, employee National Insurance Contributions and income tax always seemed risky to economists – the "big three" account for the majority of tax take. But they are also the most visible taxes for the public, and their inclusion in the manifesto made them appear taboo, glass only to be broken in cases of emergency.

A rise in, say, income tax rates may come to pass (perhaps accompanied with a cut in National Insurance to offset the impact on workers). But it may not.

The Budget is still being put together. The door to breaking manifesto pledges may have been deliberately nudged open so that if it doesn't come to pass, then an alternate package of tax rises, however large, would be greeted with relief.

There are a multitude of other options to consider– a levy on banks or the gambling industry, a further freezing of the thresholds at which different rates of taxes on incomes become applicable (so-called fiscal drag), a change in the liability of partnerships for National Insurance and even the tax treatment of pension levies have all been mooted.

And those tax rises will still be substantial, and felt primarily in the pockets of the better off.

Finding tax rises of the tune of £20-£30bn - sucking that amount out of the economy - is impossible without affecting incomes or profits, which risks damaging the outlook for growth.

However big the tax bill, this Budget may not deliver everything the chancellor wishes for.

It has been called the 50-year tax taboo.

It is more than half a century since a chancellor of the exchequer chose to put up the basic rate of income tax.

The chancellor in question was Labour's Denis Healey and the Budget was delivered on 15 April 1975.

Not once since have any of his successors done the same thing.

Five decades later, could Rachel Reeves change all of that in three weeks time?

That was one of the big questions hovering over Downing Street as us reporters headed in almost before dawn for the chancellor's breakfast time speech and news conference.

Tradition dictates that three weeks out from a Budget the air is full of every conceivable voice but the chancellor's. But not this time.

Why?

You can pick your expression of choice: softening up, expectation management, pitch-rolling. They all translate as preparing us for unpopular choices to come.

Reeves volunteering to commandeer the broadcasting apparatus of Downing Street – the specially built news conference room in No 9 – tells you everything about the scale of what she is toying with at the end of the month.

Well, I say everything, not quite. The actual choices, the decisions, including which taxes will go up and by how much, will come at the end of the month.

What we got this morning was the argument, the case for what she will do. One senior figure said to me, think of the news conference as being like the first five pages of the chancellor's speech on Budget Day, in which she sketches out the economic landscape as she sees it before she announces what she is going to do.

On the day itself, reporters tend to gloss over those opening pages afterwards, because the choices are more newsworthy than the argument.

So, the Treasury's rationale goes, Reeves wanted to set out the argument in isolation today, so it does get heard.

In the next three weeks, expect plenty of focus on page 21 of Labour's election manifesto from last year.

Here is what it says, in black and white: "Labour will not increase taxes on working people, which is why we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, or VAT."

It is why I chose to read it out, word for word, to the chancellor – scrutinising their promises on your behalf.

Reeves told me she regarded it as a "courtesy" to you to set out in broad terms the trade offs she is contemplating.

Senior government figures know that driving a coach and horses through that manifesto promise will be visible from space and could be a, if not the defining moment for Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves.

And maybe in the end she won't do it – and be able to say words to the effect of "it wasn't as bad as you thought".

But economists are suggesting that perhaps, given the state of the books, they might have run out of better ideas.

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