An aircraft carrying US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has had to make an “unscheduled landing” in the UK.

The jet was about 30 minutes into its journey back to the US after a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels, when it suffered a “depressurisation issue”.

Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the aircraft had been diverted to the UK due to a crack in the aircraft windscreen.

He posted on X: “On the way back to the United States from NATO’s Defence Ministers meeting, Secretary of War Hegseth’s plane made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft windshield.

“The plane landed based on standard procedures, and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe.”

Mr Hegseth also posted: “All good. Thank God. Continue mission!”

Open source flight trackers spotted the aircraft lose altitude and begin broadcasting an emergency signal.

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The aviation news website Airlive reported the Boeing C-32A – a military version of the Boeing 757 – had a “depressurisation issue”.

It went on to land at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk at about 7.10pm.

Mr Hegseth had been at a meeting of NATO defence ministers which was also attended by UK Defence Secretary John Healey.

In February, a US Air Force plane carrying secretary of state Marco Rubio and the Senate foreign relations committee chairman, Senator Jim Risch, was similarly forced to return to Washington DC after an issue with the cockpit windscreen.

Charlie Kirk has been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump.

The USA’s highest civilian honour was received by the conservative activist’s widow, Erika, at the White House.

Mr Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on 10 September while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.

He founded Turning Point USA and toured American university campuses, debating students about current affairs.

Addressing those attending the ceremony in the White House rose garden, the US president said they were there to “honour and remember a fearless warrior for liberty” and a “beloved leader who galvanised the next generation”.

He said Mr Kirk’s name was being entered “forever into the eternal roster of true American heroes”.

Mr Trump described Charlie Kirk as an “American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest calibre”.

He said his nation had been “robbed” of an “extraordinary champion”.

And Mr Trump said Mr Kirk was assassinated in the “prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America”.

The ceremony coincided with what would have been Mr Kirk’s 32nd birthday.

Mr Trump described Erika Kirk, now head of Turning Point USA, as someone who had “endured unspeakable hardship with unbelievable strength”.

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A 22-year-old man, Tyler Robinson, from the city of Washington in Utah has been charged with Mr Kirk’s murder. Prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.

At a memorial event held at a stadium in Arizona, Erika Kirk told an enormous crowd she forgave her husband’s killer.

“The answer to hate is not hate,” she said.

Grammy-award winning R&B and soul singer D’Angelo has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer, his family has said.

He died on Tuesday, leaving behind a “legacy of extraordinarily moving music” following a “prolonged and courageous battle with cancer,” his family said in a statement.

The prominent musician, born Michael D’Angelo Archer, was 51 years old.

A family statement said: “We are saddened that he can only leave dear memories with his family, but we are eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.

“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time, but invite you all join us in mourning his passing while also celebrating the gift of song that he has left for the world.”

The singer rose to prominence in the 1990s with his first album, Brown Sugar.

The track “Lady” from that album reached No. 10 in March 1996 and remained on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 20 weeks.