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Parts of the UK are facing power cuts and widespread travel disruption thanks to Storm Lilian – with high winds forcing Leeds Festival organisers to shut two stages.

The storm surged across Wales and England this morning and left more than 60,000 homes across the north of England without power or facing supply issues.

Northern Powergrid said it has experienced “high levels of disruption to power supplies with over 63,418 customers having been affected so far”.

The worst affected area is West Yorkshire, it added. It said it has managed to “reconnect more than 27,000 customers of those who have been impacted”.

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A statement posted on Northern Powergrid’s website said: “We know how difficult it can be for our customers during a power cut and we will continue to work throughout the storm to get the power back on as quickly as possible.”

Northern Rail has reported issues across its network, with services to and from cities including Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Wigan affected.

Passengers were this morning advised to avoid travel, and disruption was expected until 11am.

A number of routes in Wales – Wrexham General to Chester and Bidston, Machynlleth to Shrewsbury – have also faced disruption.

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A tree branch blocks a cycle path in Leeds city centre as storm Lilian hits the UK. Picture date: Friday August 23, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story WEATHER Lilian. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
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A tree branch blocks a cycle path in Leeds city centre. Pic: PA

A police officer looks on as workers begin to remove fallen tree branches after strong winds brought by Storm Lilian brought down trees blocking roads and tram routes in Manchester, Britain, August 23, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Noble
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Police on the scene as workers remove fallen tree branches blocking roads and tram routes in Manchester. Pic: Reuters

As strong winds hit Leeds Festival, organisers urged people camping to “stay in your tents if you are onsite and feel safe to do so”.

A post on X continued: “If you are in your car, please remain there. If you are not yet at the festival site, please delay your arrival.”

They later said two stages – the BBC Radio 1 stage and the brand new ‘Aux’ venue – will not feature performances today.

Flights have also been disrupted with British Airways cancelling 14 departures that had been due to take off from London’s Heathrow. A number of other aircraft were delayed.

A spokesperson for the airline said the disruption was “due to restrictions imposed by air traffic control as a result of adverse weather across the UK”.

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Scaffolding that has been blown over in Rhyl, Wales, as storm Lilian hits the UK.
Pic:David Bailey/PA
Image:
Scaffolding that has been blown over in Rhyl, Wales, as storm Lilian hits the UK. Pic: David Bailey/PA

What’s the forecast for the rest of the weekend?

A yellow weather warning for rain is in place across much of South East England, for 6am to 1pm on Saturday.

The warning covers an area from the Isle of Wight up to Ipswich, Suffolk, and includes London.

People should expect “spells of rain, heavy at times, likely to cause some travel disruption and perhaps flooding in a few places”, the Met Office said.

The North and North West will continue to see “a fairly unsettled weekend”, with various fronts moving in and bringing more persistent rain, particularly for parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.

Temperatures in the South East will reach 21C (69.8F) on Saturday and Sunday and 23C (73.4F) on Monday, slightly below average for the time of year.

On Sunday, southern Britain and Ireland will be mainly dry, with some sunshine, but elsewhere there’ll be showers or longer spells of rain. It’ll be on the cool side again and rather blustery, especially in the North.

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A similar picture is expected for bank holiday Monday as southern and eastern Britain will be mainly dry, with bright or sunny spells while the wind will pick up again in the North and West.

Temperatures will remain below average for most of the country.

Looking further ahead, more settled weather is expected later next week to end the month and season, Sky’s Jo Robinson said.

There’s also growing confidence that very warm or hot conditions will affect the South at least.

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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

Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates

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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