At the height of the heatwave sweeping Britain last month, 250 delegates gathered in the Throne Room at St James’s Palace for a reception on climate change.

The historic London building does not have air conditioning and the guests struggled to cope with the soaring temperatures, even though the curtains had been drawn in an attempt to keep out the heat and large fans were dotted around.

There was, however, one man who refused to give in to the heat: King Charles. Immaculately dressed as always, the top button of his shirt remained fastened and there was no question of him removing the jacket of his grey Anderson & Sheppard suit.

His only concession to the stifling atmosphere was to mop his brow discreetly from time to time using the lilac silk handkerchief that matched the colour of his Turnbull & Asser tie.

The Master of the Household, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, was so worried about the monarch, who is still being treated for an unspecified form of cancer, that he held an electric fan next to the King’s head in a desperate attempt to cool him down.

It was only the latest example of the King’s determination to maintain standards in a world where such matters are increasingly considered to be of little or no importance.

The trend towards more relaxed dress codes was highlighted this week by our new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, a career politician who likes to burnish his ‘man of the people’ credentials by dressing as informally as possible.

While the King trieds valiantly to uphold standards, his younger son Harry seems determined to lower them, writes Richard Eden

Indeed, Burnham’s aides let it be known that he would wear a shirt and tie only when he was at the Houses of Parliament. On other occasions, he would wear casual outfits such as his favourite dark blue T-shirt and jeans.

Burnham donned a suit and tie for his visit to Buckingham Palace on Monday when he met the King and was asked to form a government. He promptly discovered that he would not be known as ‘Andy’ by the palace but the more formal ‘Andrew’.

The Court Circular, the official record of royal engagements undertaken by working members of the Royal Family, reported the next day: ‘His Majesty received in audience the Rt Hon Andrew Burnham MP and requested him to form a new Administration.’

The moniker may have come as a surprise to Burnham, whose Labour campaign posters in the Makerfield by-election had all screamed: ‘Vote Andy’.

But the King is not the only member of the Royal Family who believes in maintaining formal terms of address. His sister, Princess Anne, once had an awkward exchange with the wife of a previous Labour prime minister, Tony Blair, during the couple’s first visit to Balmoral to stay with the late Queen Elizabeth II at her beloved Scottish residence.

Lancashire-born Cherie Blair recalled in her memoirs, Speaking For Myself: ‘At one point in that first year, Princess Anne came over and said something that included “Mrs Blair”. “Oh. Please call me Cherie,” I said. “I’d rather not,” she replied. “It’s not the way I’ve been brought up.”’

Cherie added that her relationship with the princess ‘went rapidly downhill and never recovered’.

While the King tried valiantly to uphold standards, his younger son seems determined to lower them. Prince Harry appeared in a podcast which was so un-regal that it came with a warning on the BBC Sounds website: ‘Contains very strong language, adult humour and some scenes of a sexual nature.’

On the X-rated podcast, Joe Marler Will See You Now, Harry gave his occupation as ‘Prince of England’ before proceeding to use foul language in the discussion with the former England rugby player, which covered subjects such as the grooming of their body hair.

It represented a new low for the duke, who had used his memoir, Spare, to disclose, among other things, how he had lost his virginity in a field behind a pub and used a cream with a scent that reminded him of his late mother Diana to treat frostbite on his penis after an expedition to the North Pole.

This week, I asked a friend of the King about his determination to maintain standards. He told me: ‘His Majesty believes that monarchy needs to be dignified.’

Clearly, that message hasn’t got through to all members of his family…

A Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly leaking information about the vice president to the media, according to a new report.

The agent is believed to have been a source for an MS NOW story this month about agents on Vance’s team being “fed up” with “inappropriate” travel requests, CNN reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

As part of the story, MS NOW reported on the vice president’s travel plans, including a planned helicopter trip with his son that was later called off. The Secret Service and the FBI took notice of the story, and were angered at the publication of operational details, one source said.

The agent — who has not been identified — is now subject to an internal agency review while on administrative leave, CNN reported. It’s unclear if they could face legal repercussions.

The Independent has contacted the Secret Service, the White House and MS NOW for comment.

The move comes as the Trump administration has sought to curb leaks to the press and penalize what it considers false reporting or the disclosure of sensitive information.

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice issued subpoenas to journalists at The New York Times after the newspaper reported on security concerns about the president’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One.

In a statement to The Independent at the time, the DOJ said its investigation is aimed not at reporters but at those who leak classified information. A Times spokesperson said the subpoenas “should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects.”

Also in June, Axios reported that White House officials believe someone in the president’s inner circle may have provided New York Times reporters with recordings of secure conversations inside the Situation Room. Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan published a book that month that recounted discussions in the Situation Room.

In May, the Trump administration proposed a government-wide mandate to require all federal workers to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent the dissemination of “confidential government information” to reporters.

Shortly after the war with Iran began in late February, Trump wrote on Truth Social that media outlets publishing false information from Iranian officials should be charged with treason, which is punishable by death.

The golden girl of British athletics is a notable absentee from this year’s Games

The Commonwealth Games officially gets under way on Thursday, with Glasgow playing host to the 23rd edition of the event.

More than 3,000 athletes from 74 countries and territories will descend on the Scottish city over the next 11 days and compete for 215 gold medals in a total of 16 sports. This year’s Games have been scaled back after the Australia city of Victoria pulled out of hosting duties in 2023, with Glasgow stepping in to host having last done so in 2014.

While the event will take place on a slightly smaller scale this time around, however, some of the best athletes in the world will be in action, including Scotland’s new mile world-record holder Josh Kerr, South African swimmer Chad le Clos and Welsh Olympic cycling hero Emma Finucane

Reigning heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson and para-cyclist Kadeena Cox, meanwhile, are amongst those named in the Team England squad – but there is one notable omission.

Despite winning silver at the last Games in Birmingham in 2022, Keely Hodgkinson will not play any part in the competition this time around. The 24-year-old, who is the golden girl of British athletics, indicated earlier this year that she would not feature due to the demands of her busy schedule.

Instead, she will focus on this year’s European Championships, which are also taking place in Birmingham in August.

In an interview with STV in March, Hodgkinson admitting that she is simply too busy this year to compete at another event, leading her to decide which ones she needed to prioritise.

“I’m currently not going to be competing [at the Commonwealth Games],” she said.

When the English squad was announced, former Team GB sprinter Katharine Merry confirmed that Hodgkinson had already decided not to be involved in Glasgow.

“For those asking me and to confirm, Keely isn’t missing out,” she said. “She chose not to compete.”

Hodgkinson’s absence comes after she teased a potential change of appearance ahead of returning to action at the European Championships.

Taking to Instagram this week, the star asked her 640,000 followers whether she should ditch her blonde hair and revert back to her natural brunette look.

After winning 800m gold at the Paris Olympics, Hodgkinson’s stock has continued to rise and she has signed endorsement deals with major brands including Nike, Omega and Vitality.

She has now brought out her own collaborative training and racing collection with the former, admitting in a social media post last week that it had been a lifelong dream.

“This was such a fun process!!!,” she wrote as she shared snaps of the photoshoot. “Thank you to Nike for bringing this to life. Such a dream.

“If you told 10-year-old Keels she’d have her own collaborative collection out with Nike, she’d have died. Hope y’all love it as much as I do.”

A teenage girl and a woman in her 40s died following the incident near West Mersea beach on Wednesday evening, as police investigate

Residents have recounted the moment they witnessed ‘children in trouble’ during an incident at an Essex beach where two people have lost their lives. Emergency services rushed to Sea View Holiday Park near West Mersea beach on Wednesday evening (July 22) after reports that several individuals had got into difficulty in the water.

Essex Police have confirmed that a teenage girl and a woman in her 40s have died. A third person remains in hospital in a serious condition, while two others are being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Chris, who was visiting West Mersea for the day with her daughter-in-law, described witnessing the incident as it unfolded.

She said: “I spotted that they [children] were in trouble. There were no grown ups. A woman came out of one of the huts.

“She was fully dressed and got in the water and got halfway. I could see she couldn’t swim.”

Chris, whose daughter-in-law contacted the Coastguard, said a man started shouting “that’s my family, that’s my family”.

Members of the public, including two men reportedly conducting a photo shoot, performed CPR on several people before emergency services arrived, reports Essex Live.

“It was awful,” Chris added. “It’s not what you expect to see. It was very upsetting. As soon as I saw them out that far I thought that the kids were in trouble.”

Kyla, 59, who lives near Southend, added: “It’s devastating. The helicopter landed directly in front of us.

“There was so much going on. There was sirens and everything from everywhere.

“We knew it was obviously incredibly bad and obviously something very serious had happened. It’s just devastating.

“It’s devastating that lives were taken so quickly. We would come down here several times a year.

“We love the area. It’s normally so peaceful. It’s more sombre today. It’s all that everybody is talking about. It’s definitely quieter.”

Essex Police is leading the investigation into the tragedy and has appealed for anyone who was present at the beach and has yet to speak with officers to come forward.

Detective Chief Inspector Al Pitcher said: “Today, our thoughts remain with the family members who are coming to terms with their loss. We are grateful to the people who have already spoken to us and helped with our enquiries. We would ask anyone who was at the beach at the time, and who has not yet spoken with officers, to please get in touch, to help us understand what happened.”

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson told Essex Live following the incident: “Following reports of multiple people in distress in the water at Sea View Holiday Park, West Mersea yesterday evening, we dispatched multiple resources including our Hazardous Area Response Team, critical care paramedics and two air ambulances to the scene.

“Sadly, despite best efforts, two patients could not be resuscitated. One patient was transported by air to hospital, and a further three patients were transported by road to hospital.”

On the latest episode of the Daily Mail’s Deep Dive podcast, political editor James Tapsfield explains why he’s unconvinced by Andy Burnham‘s cabinet and the economics of the new Prime Minister’s ‘feel good’ giveaways.

This week, Burnham officially became Britain’s seventh Prime Minister in a decade, promising his government would be a ‘circuit breaker’ from the political turmoil that has gripped Westminster since the Brexit vote in 2016.

The former Greater Manchester Mayor has spent his first days in charge shoring up what he claims will be a ‘cost of living government’, announcing a new-look Cabinet and a flurry of measures designed to save the public money.

Speaking to columnist Robert Hardman, Tapsfield revealed his scepticism over several of Burnham’s first moves as Prime Minister – from the ‘risky’ return of Louise Haigh, to doubts over whether Ed Miliband has what it takes to be Britain’s Foreign Secretary.

The former Greater Manchester Mayor has spent his first days in charge shoring up what he claims will be a ‘ cost of living government’ 

‘I am not convinced that Ed Miliband is the person you’d want as your chief diplomat’, Tapsfield told Deep Dive.

‘It’s not really his core skill set, looking natural and chatting to people. He often looks like an alien wearing human skin when you put him in front of a camera. He has strange mannerisms and slight gurning habits.

‘He could have a lot of trouble with the US administration, particularly Donald Trump because of his net zero background.

‘He’s big friends with Gavin Newsom, who is not Trump’s favourite person. Ed was known not to be very happy with the Iran war, where we let the US use our airbases.’

Burnham’s first concrete policy announcements, cutting VAT on domestic energy bills, capping bus fares at £2, slashing business rates for pubs and live music venues, and a pledge to end rough sleeping, have also been greeted with some head-scratching.

The government says these changes are funded by reallocating money from scrapped or reviewed programmes, from Starmer’s digital ID scheme to tax reliefs for other businesses, but critics say they still can’t see where the money is really coming from.

Almost immediately after Burnham announced the £45-a-year saving on energy bills, Starmer loyalist Darren Jones took to social media to point out that funding for the digital ID scheme, which was supposedly paying for it, had never actually been costed.

While acknowledging it was politically savvy to start his premiership on a more optimistic note, Tapsfield warned that Burnham risks showing the markets and public he is not fiscally prudent.

‘They are aiming for a kind of blitz of feel-good things’, he argued.

‘I am not convinced that Ed Miliband is the person you’d want as your chief diplomat’, Tapsfield told Deep Dive 

‘To show that positive things are being done for you, with everyone struggling with the cost of living. They’ve looked back and seen how Starmer and Reeves went wrong by saying how miserable everything was to start.

‘Sadly, he’s got no money left… rough sleeping, that seems to be coming from existing budgets. There’s no new funding really.

‘We’ve had a bus fare cap, which Burnham was very proud of doing in Manchester. Again, the funding for that is about £450 million and that’s fallen slightly to pieces.

‘They said they were going to change from giving out grants to developing countries for climate projects, and instead making them loans.

‘Heidi Alexander, the Transport minister, admitted that the detail on that has yet to be worked out.

‘Essentially, they’re borrowing more money to fund some of these little give-aways and hoping they’ll get some early momentum from it.’

Listen to Tapsfield’s full analysis of Burnham’s first days in charge by searching for Deep Dive, wherever you get your podcasts.

A fatal police shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, has fueled anger in the community as harrowing footage appeared to show the moment an officer killed a man at point-blank range in the middle of the street.

The victim, believed to be in his 30s and has not yet been identified, was seen in the cellphone footage struggling with several Madison Police Department officers before one of them fired the fatal shot Wednesday afternoon.

“This was an execution, and it never should have happened,” said Fran Hong, a Democratic state representative running for governor.

Citizens reacted to the tragedy by marching on the State Capitol to protest, chanting, “Arrest the cops!” and later took over the stage at a downtown summer concert to draw attention to the killing, prompting the organizers to cancel the performance underway.

Madison Police Chief John Patterson warned the public against leaping to conclusions about the circumstances surrounding his death based on footage widely shared on social media.

Here is everything we know about the case so far

What happened?

Bystanders have shared disturbing footage of the shooting that took place Wednesday at the busy intersection of Madison’s South Baldwin and Williamson Streets around 1:34 p.m.

Madison Police Department said officers were responding to a report alleging that someone had been seen attempting to break into parked cars in the city’s Marquette neighborhood, according to a statement.

The video showed the man, who police said was armed with a knife, being pinned to the ground by several officers after a pursuit on foot.

A “physical struggle” ensued and an officer yelled, “taser, taser taser,” but was unable to discharge the weapon, police said.

Officers wrestled the man to the floor, when one of them pulled out his weapon and appeared to fire several shots at close range. The victim was then seen slumped on the ground and did not move again. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

The Madison Police Department said the officer who fatally shot the man, “considered a veteran,” was injured by the deceased who “pulled out a fix-blade knife” while resisting arrest.

A second officer was injured in the incident but police have not said how, only that they do not believe his wound was caused by the knife.

The four officers involved have since been placed on administrative leave according to procedure and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation has commenced an independent probe.

How has the community reacted?

Police Chief Patterson appealed for calm at a press conference in the aftermath, recounting the official narrative and pointing out that video of the shooting seen online only offered one side of the story.

He offered few details about the victim’s identity, other than to say he was a man believed to be in his 30s.

Incumbent Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called for “transparency and accountability” on X, expressing his sympathies for the victim’s family and saying that any protest should be conducted “peacefully and respectfully.”

Motorists attempting to get into the Octagon car park on Great Moor Street were left waiting on the road until help arrived.

Some drivers decided they couldn’t wait and turned around.

A loss of power meant one of the shutters could not open and Town Hall chiefs say that steps are in place to rectify this.

There are two entrances into the car park, which is used by shoppers and town centre workers as well as visitors to Bolton town centre.

Cars outside the Octagon car park (Image: NQ)

In addition there was a ticket jam on the other entry point, where the shutter did work.

It is understood that there are no delays in accessing the car park currently.

The car park shutters were introduced a few years ago as part of security measures a

Shutters were installed at both the entrance and exit barriers, while scanners have also been put in place outside the pedestrian entrances, meaning people need to scan their ticket to be allowed access.

The Octagon car park is one of a number of multi-storey car parks in the town centre which are still managed by NCP, despite the fact the he car parking giant announced back in March that it was going into administration, putting the car parks it runs across the country at risk.

A council spokesperson said earlier this year: “We continue to work with the appointed administrators at PwC to ensure that NCP assets remain fully operational.

“In Bolton, this includes town centre multi-storey car parks, surface level car parks and CCTV networks, all of which are operating as normal.

“Negotiations between administrators and stakeholders can be a lengthy process but in the meantime residents, commuters and visitors to Bolton will notice no difference when parking in the town centre.

“The council will keep residents and businesses informed throughout this process and will provide full updates if there is any change to NCP car parks in Bolton.”

A police chief has apologised after admitting phones were seized from the Manchester synagogue attacker months before the car and knife assault but they were not examined.

Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was on bail for an alleged rape when he carried out the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall on 2 October 2025, in which two Jewish men were killed.

His devices, which contained evidence of his extreme views, were seized after he was arrested in February and September but not analysed.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said he was “deeply sorry”, conceding that “the information contained within these devices would have inspired further investigative action”.

Sir Stephen said: “In conducting an internal review, it became apparent that GMP had seized Al-Shamie’s mobile devices, at the point of each arrest.

“The significance of the data contents of these devices was substantial in respect of evidencing an extremist mindset.

“I am disappointed at the prospect of adding to the distress of all of those affected by the terrible events last October.

“For this, I am deeply sorry.”

The apology came after Mohammad Bashir was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years for plotting a separate attack with Al-Shamie at the UK’s Defence Academy in Shrivenham.

Details emerged in the case at Manchester Crown Court that the pair had been discussing their extremist views in WhatsApp chats, including preparing for a “war”.

The court was played footage showing the moment Al-Shamie and Bashir discussed becoming martyrs.