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Labour would give local authorities new powers to buy land cheaply and develop affordable homes if it wins power at the next election, Sky News understands.

The reforms would overhaul how land is valued under the compulsory purchase order (CPO) process, as part of efforts to tackle the UK’s housing shortage.

A CPO allows a public authority to buy land without the owner’s consent to make way for major infrastructure projects or housing developments.

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The landowner is entitled to compensation, but under Labour’s plans the amount would not reflect “hope value” – a premium accrued through the expectation of planning permission being granted for developments in the future.

A Labour source said this does not mean paying below market value for land.

The principle is to “rebalance the power between landowners and local communities”, an aide told The Guardian, which first reported on the story.

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Officials believe such an approach would bring England in line with arrangements in Germany, France and the Netherlands.

A Labour spokesperson said: “For too long the Tories have stood aside while speculators have squeezed affordable housing, green spaces and homes for first time buyers.

“Labour is the only party that will deliver much needed reform to give people secure, affordable and decent housing.”

Campaigners have long called for the “hope value” system to be scrapped to pave the way for more social housing.

Research by the Centre for Progressive Policy think tank in 2018 found that land worth £22,520 per hectare as agricultural land could be worth £6.2 million per hectare with planning permission: 275 times more.

Housing charity Shelter says hope value is effectively calculated by the amount the land could be worth if it was sold to build luxury private homes, and scrapping it would force owners into accepting a fairer price – meaning more affordable homes could be built.

The government has acknowledged the current rules “can significantly increase costs for councils” and has promised to reform CPO compensation to remove hope value where it is in the public interest – but this will be at the secretary of state’s discretion.

The changes are part of the levelling up and regeneration bill, which is currently passing through parliament.

A spokesperson for the department for levelling up, housing and communities said: “It will ultimately be for the secretary of state to decide whether a compulsory purchase order can be approved and if the removal of hope value is appropriate.”

Housing key battleground at next election

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Starmer pledges to reinstate housing targets and get to grips with planning framework.

Housing supply is likely to be a key battleground at the next election amid a chronic shortage of homes, the soaring cost of rent and a drop in homeownership.

Earlier this month Michael Gove, the housing secretary, admitted there is a housing problem in the UK and “the problem is there simply aren’t enough homes in this country”.

“It is increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder,” he said as he promised to look at ways to make it easier for young people to buy their first home.

The admission came after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was forced to row back on a Conservative manifesto commitment to build 300,000 homes a year in response to a revolt by Tory MPs and activists.

Labour has vowed to “back the builders, not the blockers” and recently launched a series of pro-building policies, including bringing back mandatory targets and making it easier to develop on the green belt.

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Pope Francis’s final moments reveal how quickly he deteriorated before death

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Pope Francis's final moments reveal how quickly he deteriorated before death

Pope Francis died little more than half an hour after being taken ill, Vatican sources have told Sky News.

Pope Francis woke at 6am on Monday, and was fine for at least an hour, sources said, as they revealed details of the pontiff’s final moments.

Around 7am, the Vatican’s medical unit received an emergency call from his Casa Santa Marta apartment.

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An urgent transfer to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, was among the options considered.

A request for an urgent escort from the Vatican was received by Rome police after 7am, sources there said, but, given how quickly his condition worsened, it was cancelled by Vatican officials before 7.35am.

Francis died at the age of 88, a day after making his final public appearance at St Peter’s Square, where he greeted crowds on Easter Sunday, one of the most important days of the Christian calendar.

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First images of pope’s casket

The Vatican said he died from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.

He is currently lying in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.

Francis will be laid to rest Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects.

The funeral will take place outside, in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, and will start with a procession led by a priest carrying a cross, followed by the coffin and ordained clergy.

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‘Many were in tears, I was in tears’

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the service. Nine days of mourning begin afterwards.

Unlike his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), as per his final burial wishes, announced on Monday.

The basilica is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and is where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after foreign trips.

He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.

In another change from tradition, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket, forgoing the centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead, and oak.

Prince William will attend the funeral on behalf of King Charles, Kensington Palace has said.

Cardinals will gather in a conclave to choose his successor afterwards.

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Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, had suffered from a chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man.

Health issues plagued him throughout his later life, and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days before being released.

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Kristi Noem: Top Trump official’s handbag – containing $3,000 in cash and security pass – stolen in burger restaurant

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Kristi Noem: Top Trump official's handbag - containing ,000 in cash and security pass - stolen in burger restaurant

A bag belonging to the US Homeland Security Secretary was stolen on Sunday night – containing thousands of dollars in cash and an ID card that gives access to secure agency buildings.

Kristi Noem was eating at a Washington DC burger restaurant with family when a man in a face covering sat near her table and stole her purse, according to two people familiar with the theft.

Officials confirmed the theft to Sky News’ US partner NBC News on Monday.

The cabinet secretary was carrying $3,000 (£2,243) in cash because “her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren”, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC.

“She was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”

US Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem visited CECOT in March. Pic: Reuters
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The purse contained her ID card. Reuters file pic

Just before 8pm, a man wearing an N-95 mask walked into the restaurant and up a few stairs to where Ms Noem was eating dinner.

He sat near her table and moved his chair close to hers before sliding her purse toward him with his foot, according to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, the sources said.

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Within minutes, the man had Ms Noem’s purse under his jacket and walked out of the restaurant.

At least two on-duty members of the US Secret Service were in the restaurant – between Ms Noem and the front doors – according to a source who witnessed the meal.

They said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time.

The purse also contained credit cards, blank cheques, her passport, driver’s licence and a set of keys.

It’s unclear whether Ms Noem was specifically targeted – and investigators are looking into whether the man knew who the purse belonged to.

When asked about the incident, Ms Noem said: “I don’t think I can comment on it yet. It’s not resolved yet.”

She said the Secret Service was aware but said she hadn’t spoken to agency personnel about what happened.

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Ms Noem is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s policies of deporting undocumented immigrants and fortifying the US-Mexico border to slow illegal migration.

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Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia’s ‘brutal war’ – as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire

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Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia's 'brutal war' - as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.

The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.

A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.

“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.

“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.

The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.

It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.

Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”

When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”

The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.

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From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?

It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.

The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.

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Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.

He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.

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