Cardinals have failed to reach the required two-thirds majority in their first vote to choose a new pope in the Vatican.

Black smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 8pm, indicating they had been unable to agree.

Crowds in St Peter’s Square had been kept waiting longer than expected and most were hoping for the white smoke that signals the arrival of a new pontiff.

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There was only one vote today, but from Thursday the 133 cardinals will hold two votes in the morning and two in the afternoon until at least 89 pick the same name.

The conclave started on Wednesday afternoon after cardinals swore an oath of secrecy and the doors of the Sistine Chapel were shut to the outside world.

They have given up their phones and are cut off from the outside world until a new pope is chosen.

The most recent conclaves – for Pope Francis in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope John Paul II in 1978 – all lasted less than three days.

The voting takes places beneath Michelangelo’s legendary frescoes and the chapel – normally a packed tourist site – has installed tight security.

It’s been swept for listening devices, signal jammers have been installed, and its windows have been covered to protect from spy drones.

Lead seals have also been put on 80 doors at the conclave site to stop people going in and out.

The cardinals will sleep and eat at the Casa Santa Marta, a guest house within the Vatican where Pope Francis lived, until the process is over.

They cardinals began Wednesday by taking mass, before a solemn two-by-two procession into the Sistine Chapel in the afternoon.

Dresses in their red garb, they chanted the Litany of the Saints and Veni Creator – a hymn imploring the saints to help them find a new leader.

They then each came forward to take an oath of secrecy, placing a hand on the gospel and also promising not to allow any outside influence.

The final piece of theatre was the Latin declaration “Extra omnes” (“everyone else out”) and Archbishop Diego Ravelli, an aide to the late pope, pushed the the doors shut.

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Conclave is beginning 16 days after Pope Francis’s death, which came after a long hospital stay with pneumonia.

Many experts believe it will come down to a choice between someone who will continue his progressive approach and a more conservative candidate.

Among the favourites is Luis Tagle, a cardinal who could become the first Asian pontiff, and who’s been likened to Pope Francis.

Two Italians are also seen as strong contenders: The Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, and the so-called “deputy pope” Pietro Parolin.

The pope’s identity is normally revealed soon after the white smoke emerges, when he steps onto the balcony to wave to the crowds in St Peter’s Square.

A senior Labour MP has said the government needs to take “corrective action” over planned disability benefit cuts – as Sir Keir Starmer faces a growing backbench rebellion.

Tan Dhesi, chair of the influential Commons defence committee, told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge the “disappointing” local election results show the government must listen and learn, particularly over welfare reforms.

The government has proposed tightening the eligibility requirements for the personal independent payment, known as PIP.

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A claimant must score a minimum of four points on one PIP daily living activity, such as preparing food, washing and bathing, using the toilet or reading, to receive the daily living element of the benefit.

Mr Dhesi, the MP for Slough, said “corrective action” needs to be taken but insisted if the government changed tact, it would not be a U-turn as the disability cuts were only proposals.

“A government which is in listening mode should be looking at what the electorate is saying,” he said.

“And we need to make sure that it’s our moral duty, responsibility, to look after the most vulnerable within our community, whether that’s in Slough, whether that’s elsewhere across the country.

“So, I hope that the government will be taking on board that feedback and many of us as MPs are giving that feedback in various meetings happening here in Westminster and then we need to take corrective action.”

Minister Alex Davies-Jones told the Politics Hub a Labour government “will always seek to protect the most vulnerable” and it wants to “listen to people who have got real lived experience”.

She added she has the “utmost respect for Tan, he’s a great constituency MP and he’s doing exactly what he should be doing, is representing his constituency”.

Sir Keir is facing a rebellion from Labour MPs, with about 40 in the Red Wall – Labour’s traditional heartlands in the north of England – reposting a statement on social media in which they said the leadership’s response to the local elections had “fallen on deaf ears”.

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Several backbench Labour MPs also spoke out against the plans during a debate on PIP and disabled people in parliament on Wednesday.

Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby, said he would “swim through vomit to vote against” the proposed changes and said: “This is not what the Labour Party was formed to do.”

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, said she feared tightening PIP eligibility would cause deaths, adding: “Lest we forget that study that attributed 330,000 excess deaths in Britain between 2012 and 2019 to the last round of austerity cuts [under the Conservative government].”

Diane Abbott, the longest-serving female MP, accused the government of putting forward “contradictory arguments”.

“On the one hand, they insist they are helping the disabled by putting them back to work,” she said.

“But on the other hand, they say this cut will save £9bn. Well, you can’t do both.”

However, fellow Labour MP David Pinto-Duschinsky, said MPs cannot “ignore this issue” of health-related benefit claimant figures rising at “twice the rate of underlying health conditions”.

Responding for the government, social security minister Sir Stephen Timms said PIP claims were set to “more than double, from two million to over 4.3 million this decade”.

“It would certainly not be in the interests of people currently claiming the benefits for the government to bury its head in the sand over that rate of increase,” he added.

A man whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase had raped and blackmailed a teenager, a court has heard.

The remains of Albert Alfonso, 62, and Paul Longworth, 71, were found in a suitcase and trunk which had been left near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol in July 2024.

Yostin Mosquera is on trial at the Old Bailey in London accused of murdering and dismembering Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth.

The 35-year-old denies both murders but has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Alfonso.

A witness, giving evidence under the pseudonym James Smith, appeared at the trial by video link on Wednesday.

Mr Smith said he met Mr Alfonso nearly 20 years ago when he was around 17 or 18 and had gone to his flat for drinks.

He said he remembered drinking heavily and then waking up with a “banging headache”.

“I said to him, ‘what’s happened?’ – he showed me a video of me on all fours and he was penetrating me,” he told the court.

“I didn’t know what to do. I was mortified. At this point, I didn’t know my sexuality – I was confused and scared.”

He said Mr Alfonso told him if he did “favours”, the video would never be shared.

Under cross-examination, defence barrister Tom Little KC asked: “Does it cross your mind, looking back, that you were raped?”

“Now, yes,” Mr Smith replied.

“And does it cross your mind that your drink may have been spiked?”, the barrister asked.

“Now, yes,” the witness responded.

“Does it cross your mind that you were groomed by Albert Alfonso?”, Mr Little asked.

“Now, yes,” Mr Smith said.

After the alleged incident, the two met regularly, with Mr Alfonso paying Mr Smith around £150 for each sexual encounter, the court heard.

During the COVID pandemic, the witness said he became closer with Mr Alfonso and began spending time with Mr Longworth.

Mr Smith told the court he was later introduced to Mosquera.

He said the relationship between Mosquera and Mr Alfonso was “good – very good”.

“I didn’t see anything that seemed like they disliked each other,” he added.

He described Mr Longworth as someone who “wouldn’t hurt a fly”.

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Mr Smith said the final time he saw Mr Alfonso and Mr Longworth was on a Friday evening before the bodies were discovered.

“Albert gave me a hug, Paul gave me a hug, and that was the last I heard of those two,” he said.

The trial continues.