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Buckingham Palace has released a new picture of one of the Queen’s favourite ponies, who made a poignant appearance at her funeral.

Emma the Fell Pony stood at the side of the Long Walk on the approach to Windsor Castle as the coffin carrying her devoted owner was driven past at her final farewell last month.

And now a portrait of the black pony, who was born in 1996, has been released in tribute.

During the ceremonial procession on 19 September, Emma stood in a gap between the hundreds of thousands of floral tributes, in the care of the Queen’s trusted stud groom and manager at Windsor Castle, Terry Pendry.

EMBARGOED TO 2230 SATURDAY OCTOBER 8 File photo dated 19/09/22 of Emma, the monarch's fell pony, standing besides floral tributes as the Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrived at Windsor Castle for her Committal Service at St George's Chapel. Issue date: Saturday October 8, 2022.
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Emma standing beside floral tributes as the Ceremonial Procession of the coffin arrived at Windsor Castle

Mr Pendry, in his bowler hat, black jacket and riding boots, bowed his head as the coffin passed.

Behind them were grooms from the Royal Mews at Windsor wearing black armbands in mourning.

Emma’s ears twitched, and she swished her tail, stomping on the ground twice with one of her front hooves as the Queen’s coffin moved past in the state hearse with a military parade.

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Emma, the monarch's fell pony, stands as the Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Windsor Castle for the Committal Service at St George's Chapel. Picture date: Monday September 19, 2022. Aaron Chown/Pool via REUTERS

Mr Pendry once described Emma, who was bought by the Queen in 2004, as “a wonderful servant to Her Majesty” and one of her favourite-ever horses.

WINDSOR (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth's black pony Emma watched the monarch's funeral procession pass by in the grounds of Windsor Castle, where it was held on a lead by a groomsman.
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The Queen’s love of dogs was also reflected in her passing when her corgis Muick and Sandy stood in wait for the cortège on the day of the state funeral and burial

The Queen regularly rode Emma – whose full name is Carltonlima Emma – for light exercise in the grounds around Windsor Castle over the past 15 years.

During her career, Emma also qualified at the Horse of the Year Show Ridden Finals, and at Olympia in the Mountain and the Moorland Supreme Championship Final.

On her retirement in December 2007, she returned to the Royal Mews at Windsor, where she will continue to live.

The palace said she will be “much-loved and cared for”.

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Queen Elizabeth comes home to Windsor – her final resting place.

Gift from King George

Emma appeared in three Pageants at The Royal Windsor Horse Show to mark the Diamond Jubilee, the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations and the Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen was known for her life-long love of horses, which began when her grandfather King George V gave her a Shetland Pony called Peggy.

She became knowledgeable as a rider, owner and breeder of horses and her passion for them was evident at race meetings, which included the Derby at Epsom and Royal Ascot.

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Gold Cup success

On 18 June 1954, her horse Landau won the Rous Memorial Stakes and a stallion called Aureole won the Hardwicke Stakes.

In 1957, the Queen had four winners during Ascot week, and she became the first reigning monarch to have won Royal Ascot’s Gold Cup with her thoroughbred Estimate in 2013.

Her horse Highclere won the Prix de Diane at Chantilly in 1975.

The Queen was involved in ensuring the survival of a number of rare breeds of horses and ponies through the breeding programmes in both her private yards and the working yards which bred horses used for royal and state occasions.

She championed breeds including Highland Ponies, Fell Ponies and Cleveland Bays.

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‘Immediate action’ taken after blueprints of prisons in England and Wales leaked on dark web

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'Immediate action' taken after blueprints of prisons in England and Wales leaked on dark web

“Immediate action” is being taken after blueprints of jail layouts were shared online.

The maps detailing the layouts of prisons in England and Wales were leaked on the dark web over the past fortnight, according to The Times.

The detailed information is said to include the locations of cameras and sensors, prompting fears they could be used to smuggle drugs or weapons into prisons or help inmates plan escapes.

Security officials are now working to identify the source of the leak and who might benefit from the details.

The Ministry of Justice did not disclose which prisons were involved in the breach.

A government spokesperson said in a statement: “We are not going to comment on the specific detail of security matters of this kind, but we are aware of a breach of data to the prison estate and, like with all potential breaches, have taken immediate action to ensure prisons remain secure.”

The leak comes amid a chronic prison overcrowding crisis, which has led to early release schemes and the re-categorising of the security risks of some offenders to ease capacity pressures.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is launching a sentencing review in a bid to ease the crisis.

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Starmer says UK will ‘set out a path’ to raise defence spending to 2.5% in spring

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Starmer says UK will 'set out a path' to raise defence spending to 2.5% in spring

The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and  Keir Starmer, during a trilateral meeting in 10 Downing Street.
Pic: PA
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Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA

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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

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While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.

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Man shot dead and another critically injured in Birmingham shooting – as murder suspect arrested

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Man shot dead and another critically injured in Birmingham shooting - as murder suspect arrested

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after one man died and another was critically injured in a shooting in Birmingham.

Police were called to Rotton Park Road in Edgbaston, just before 11pm on Friday, to reports that two people had been shot.

One man, in his 20s, was found in a car but was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man, in his 30s, was found injured at a bus stop, and was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition, West Midlands Police added.

Firearms officers arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder just before 12.30am. He remains in custody.

Officers remain on the scene, with road closures in place. The force said reassurance patrols will also be taking place.

Detective Inspector Nick Barnes said: “This is a tragic incident, and we have worked through the night to understand exactly what happened.

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“We’ve already made good progress and arrested a suspect, but I still need to hear from anyone who was in the area that we’ve not already spoken to.

“This happened near the busy junction with City Road and it may be that you’ve got dashcam footage or mobile phone footage from the area just before 11pm.

“We really need to hear from you so that we can build as clear a picture as possible of what happened.”

Officers are urging anyone with information to get in contact, with anonymous tips also taken via Crimestoppers.

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