King undergoes treatment for cancer after shock diagnosis

The King is facing regular treatment for cancer after his shock diagnosis was uncovered during his recent hospital stay.

Charles, 75, who has postponed all his public duties, returned to London from Sandringham on Monday and has already begun his medical care as an outpatient under the close supervision of his specialist team of doctors.

Heir to the throne the Prince of Wales is set to step up to carry out some duties on behalf of his father.

Manhunt for Clapham chemical attack suspect Abdul Ezedi enters sixth day

The manhunt for corrosive liquid attack suspect Abdul Ezedi is continuing into its sixth day, with a £20,000 reward in place for anyone with information leading to his arrest.

Metropolitan Police officers have been searching for the 35-year-old since last Wednesday after a woman and her two daughters, aged eight and three, were hurt in Clapham.

The 31-year-old mother may lose the sight in her right eye, police said on Monday.

Labour pushes government to change rules for ministers’ severance payouts

Labour will seek to reform the rules for payouts when ministers leave office after it emerged nearly £1m was spent during last year’s political chaos.

The party will use an Opposition Day debate on Tuesday to present a Bill aiming to change the system of taxpayer-funded ministerial severance payments. Currently, ministers under the age of 65 are entitled to a loss-of-office payment amounting to a quarter of their ministerial salary if they are not appointed to a new role within three weeks.

There has been anger though that some Tory MPs took the compensation amounting to three months’ pay despite only lasting a number of weeks in their post.

Liz Truss to launch ‘Popular Conservatives’ faction of Tory MPs

Liz Truss is set to launch a new movement dubbed Popular Conservatives, or Pop Cons, on Tuesday in a bid to rally right-wing Tory MPs ahead of a general election this year.

The short-lived former prime minister is set to address the central London event alongside ex-Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lee Anderson, who recently quit as deputy Tory chairman over the Rwanda Bill.

The grouping aims to pile pressure on Rishi Sunak to cut taxes, to adopt hardline policies on immigration and leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

British-owned vessel attacked in the Red Sea

A British-owned cargo vessel was attacked in the Red Sea on Tuesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The attack on the ship happened west of Hodeida in Yemen just after midnight on Tuesday.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Associated Press reports suspicions have fallen on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The UKMTO said the ship’s master was ‘aware of a small craft on his Port side’ before a projectile was fired at the ship.

‘Lacklustre’ January for retailers as cost-of-living pressures enter third year

Retailers suffered a lacklustre January as consumers began a third year grappling with cost-of-living pressures, new figures show.

Easing inflation and weak consumer demand saw total retail sales across the UK rise by just 1.2%, a plunge from the year-on-year growth of 4.2% seen in the same month in 2023, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Quarterly food sales were up 6.3% year on year, compared with growth of 8% last January. Non-food sales fell by 1.8% year on year over the three months to January, against growth of 2.9% in January 2023.

Households will start to receive £299 cost-of-living payments from Tuesday

Households on low incomes will start to receive a £299 cost-of-living payment from Tuesday.

Payments will be made across the UK by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between February 6 and 22.

It is the third of up to three payments totalling up to £900 paid to eligible households on means-tested benefits over 2023/24 and comes as part of a support package that has been helping households since autumn 2021.

Snapchat owner lays off about 10% of its global workforce

The owner of Snapchat is cutting about 10% of its worldwide workforce, or about 530 employees, the latest tech company to announce layoffs.

Snap said in a regulatory filing that it currently estimates 55m dollars (£44m) to 75m dollars (£60m) in charges, mostly for severance and related costs.

It expects the majority of the costs to be incurred in the first quarter.

Dad’s Army star Ian Lavender dies aged 77

Ian Lavender, who played Private Frank Pike in classic comedy series Dad’s Army, has died at the age of 77.

The Birmingham-born actor, who was the last remaining main cast member from the wartime-set BBC show, died on Friday morning, his agent confirmed.

Agents Hilary Gagan told the PA news agency Lavender had been ill for some time and that his wife and sons were by his side.

Weather

Heavy rain seen yesterday in the far north will move its way southwards today, reports BBC Weather, but not as far as the south coast. A windy day; temperatures seven to nine degrees under the rain, but a very mild 13 degrees in the south east.

The rain will continue to move southwards, hitting the far south by dawn. Behind this it will be dry with clearing skies.

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