Ministers scrapped plans to delay May’s local elections after a Reform UK legal challenge. The state will pay the party’s costs. Farage calls it a win. The U-turn increases pressure on the PM amid forecasts of council losses and talk of a reshuffle.

Government to shrink a programme countering hostile-state activity after a newly revealed poison threat linked to a foreign power. Opposition brands the change irresponsible; the PM says funding will be redirected to the most acute national security risks as allies prepare further sanctions.

Police may question former royal protection officers over records of female visitors to Buckingham Palace, after an ex-guard offered evidence to an inquiry and alleged guest entries were omitted, linked to Epstein.

The PM has dismissed the head of the Civil Service with immediate effect, the third senior exit this week, as part of a leadership reset. Sir Chris Wormald departs after a year, with Dame Antonia Romeo tipped to become Cabinet Secretary.