Morning Briefing: Sunday 4 October 2026
- Your inheritance: Inheritance tax is charged on most estates worth more than £325,000. Kemi Badenoch says she is open to cutting it, but will not commit to anything she cannot show how to pay for.
- If you are waiting for a trial: 80,829 Crown Court cases were outstanding at the end of June, almost a third of them waiting a year or more. The plan for judge-alone trials has been dropped, but defendants still lose the right to elect a jury and magistrates will be able to pass eighteen-month sentences.
- Buying a car: Chinese brands have tripled their share of the UK market this year to 12% of sales, and new registrations are up 12% on the year, the strongest September growth since 2017. The EU is pressing Britain to impose tariffs, which would push prices back up.
Ethiopian Forces Say They Have Taken Mekelle
Ethiopia’s government forces say they have seized Mekelle, the Tigrayan capital, after a week of intense fighting. The claim comes a day after federal troops regained the Alula Aba Nega airport on the city’s eastern approach, and after a l…
Australia Investigates the Flydubai Co-Pilot as the Weapon Is Confirmed
Australian counter-terrorism officers are investigating the Flydubai co-pilot’s links to the country, the federal police confirmed on Sunday. The United Arab Emirates’ attorney general, Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, has said the man attacked the c…
Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Will Hit Russian Refineries Harder
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian intelligence has obtained documents showing Vladimir Putin has authorised attacks on a far broader range of civilian targets before winter, and that Ukraine will answer by striking Russian oil refineries.…
Houthis Claim a Missile and Drone Strike on Aramco in Riyadh
The Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group struck Aramco in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, calling the strikes “precise and direct” and saying they “led to fires breaking out”. Smoke and fire were seen near an Ara…
Latvia’s Pro-Ukraine Governing Party Leads the Count Strongly
Andris Kulbergs’s centrist, pro-Ukraine United List was on 36.5% with 72% of ballots counted after Saturday’s Latvian parliamentary election, ahead of the populist Latvia First on 13.0%. Exit polls published on Saturday night had already f…
Ministers Drop the Plan to Cut Jury Trials
The government has abandoned plans for judge-alone Crown Court trials where the likely sentence was under three years, and has dropped the proposed Crown Court Bench Division altogether. Judge-alone trials will survive only for long, techn…
Badenoch Opens Her Conference Open to Cutting Inheritance Tax
Kemi Badenoch has said she is open to cutting inheritance tax but will not commit to it, as the Conservative conference opens in Birmingham for four days. The tax is charged on most estates worth more than £325,000. She has also promised t…
Thousands Rally on the Garvaghy Road as Drumcree Enters an Eighth Day
Thousands gathered on the Garvaghy Road on Saturday afternoon in support of the residents opposing the Portadown District Orange Lodge parade, with a smaller loyalist rally in the Edgarstown estate. Police closed the road to traffic once t…
Abuse Survivors Say They Feel Unsafe as Early Releases Begin
About 700 offenders were released in England and Wales on Thursday, the first of ten tranches that will free some 4,500 prisoners by June. Those let out first were serving up to nineteen months, and affected prisoners now serve a third of…
Ministers Weigh How to Police Mayors Given Income Tax Powers
A “rewiring the state” white paper due later this month will set out plans to hand regional mayors a larger share of income tax revenue. Among the options being weighed to keep them accountable are a new Westminster select committee, tight…