Starmer’s convening of Macron, Merz and Zelensky tomorrow is well timed. Witkoff tried to repeat his Gaza gambit by producing a hasty ‘peace plan’ and trying to railroad it. That was never going to work, and his current roadshow with Kushner won’t resolve the core issues 1/6.

Extraordinary progress made in counter drone technology by Ukrainian defenders

Bohdan 41, and Ivan, 45, both Ukrainian machine gunners, spent 62 days at the front line, hiding from drones, mostly in a small basement after their first position was discovered. These are the people who really hold the line... https://t.co/gKIfkwOhCY

..oh in case you missed it, earlier he said Nigel Farage was "soft on Putin".

Russian spy ship Yantar on the edge of UK waters. Healey says he has changed Navy's rules of engagement + "we have military options ready" in case ship changes course. Threat comes after Russian drones and planes entered Nato airspace this autumn...

Watching a rare speech from def sec John Healey in 9 Downing St. A special outing from Labour's safest pair of hands in an attempt to short up messy budget pitch rolling, justifying boost to defence budgets. "We're getting on with the job we were elected to do," he says.

A row out of nowhere, a politicised leak, a sudden double resignation. A coup from the inside too? https://t.co/meVN3MR4nv

Stephen Parkinson, DPP, had decided Sept 3 to drop the case. Only senior civil servants could be informed (incl Powell). Not clear when Starmer + Cooper were told (and doesn't look like they could intervene) - case was publicly dropped Sept 15. Questions for Parkinson...

Tory spy case accusations backfiring... Rishi Sunak was sent a copy of first witness statement in the spy case says Jonathan Powell + Matthew Collins. Powell says he 'played no role' in subsequent evidence when in govt

I am told that the director of public prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has just told some of parliament’s most senior MPs - chairs of home, justice, foreign and security committees - that the evidence provided by the government’s witness in the China spy case, the deputy national

Poland’s foreign minister has accused Russia of a “tactically stupid & counterproductive” escalation of the war in Ukraine, saying its drone incursion into Poland appeared to be deliberate. ⁦@guardian’s ⁦@dansabbagh talks w/ @sikorskiradek⁩

An Iranian designed Shahed 136 drone is unveiled at the Speakers House in parliament. It has been decommissioned, guests are assured...

*Three* witness stmts were provided to the CPS for the China 'spy' trial by Matthew Collins, UK dep NSA, Ruth Anderson tells the Lords. None sufficient to allow the trial to go ahead. Michael Gove asks if the Collins statements will be made public. Anderson ducks the question

Dutch F-35s have intercepted Russian drones over Poland. Within the NATO framework, our F-35s make a significant contribution to the defence of our collective security. This is precisely what we stand ready to do. This is how we keep the escalating Russian threat at a distance.

Russian milbloggers spread a fake image, claiming the drone strike on Poland was tracked in real time and aimed at Rzeszów airport. Proof this attack was planned and deliberate.

Boris Johnson earned £5.1m in speech fees after leaving govt yet claimed £182k of taxpayer cash for staff, leaked files suggest. Nice work if you can get it. Extraordinary from Guardian Investigations ---> https://t.co/pBKtbSRWQN...

Yvette Cooper’s appointment means UK has had 6 Foreign Secretaries in 5 yrs: Lammy, Cameron, Cleverly, Truss, Raab. This merry-go-round at top of UK diplomacy will further dismay allies. Relationships continually have to be rebuilt + sense of UK foreign policy inconsistency.

"Overwhelming evidence" US nuclear weapons are back in the UK. CND calls on Starmer to update Parliament. MoD says it will neither confirm or deny. The Cold War is back ---> https://t.co/LhWfGrV4iG

On Afghan Resettlement and MOD data breach: I’d like to add my sincere apology to those of other current & former defence ministers for the data breach which compromised details of so many applicants to the ARAP scheme. 🧵 [1/25]

It’s 3:10 a.m. in Tehran, and this is the first message and reaction from the capital sent to me via Telegram, in response to Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Shared with permission.