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Hopes of a bank holiday ahead of the coronation weekend have been dealt a blow, amid warnings it will clash with next year’s local elections.

King Charles III will be crowned at a ceremony on Saturday 6 May.

The government has said it is considering all options, including creating an extra day off or moving the scheduled 1 May bank holiday to give people a long weekend to mark the historic occasion.

Labour has also backed shifting the May Day bank holiday to coincide with the coronation.

But concerns have been raised over making Friday 5 May 2023 a national holiday because of votes being counted from local elections held in England on Thursday 4 May.

The Association of Electoral Administrators is seeking early clarification from the government.

Peter Stanyon, the organisation’s chief executive, said: “A potential Friday bank holiday on 5 May 2023 may cause logistical issues, particularly around recruiting the large numbers of staff needed to work at election counts.

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“With the coronation being such an historic occasion, people will of course want to celebrate with family and friends and take part in local and national events.

“A bank holiday on Monday 8 May would be much more manageable from an electoral perspective.

“Regardless of the decision, we would welcome certainty as soon as possible.”

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King coronation details announced

There is a precedent for moving the bank holiday to a Friday, as happened to create a long weekend to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day in May 2020.

However, local, mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections were postponed that year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Next year’s local polls will be the first major electoral test for Liz Truss’s embattled government, with votes being held in scores of district councils, unitary authorities and metropolitan boroughs.

The coronation will take place in Westminster Abbey, eight months after the monarch’s accession and the death of the Queen.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed the Queen Consort will be crowned alongside the King.

The palace said the ceremony would “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future” while staying “rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.

The Queen’s coronation on 2 June 1953 was three hours long and had a congregation of 8,000 dignitaries.

The event was broadcast live on television, attracting record-breaking audiences around the world.

Charles’s coronation is expected to be on a smaller scale and shorter, with suggestions that it could last just one hour with around 2,000 guests.

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Coronation is a ‘one-off cost’

However, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has argued the King’s coronation “needs to be done properly” despite the cost of living crisis and recent economic turmoil.

Speaking to Sky News earlier this week he said: “Nobody is talking about a coronation that will cost billions of pounds.

“I hope we see a coronation that is sufficiently dignified for our sovereign. This is a one-off cost.

“The last one was for a coronation for a reign of 70 years. So, this is not something that happens often, it needs to be done properly.”

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Although the King succeeded the throne when the Queen died, the coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch’s regal power.

The King will be 74 next May, making him the oldest person to be crowned in British history.

The service has been held in Westminster Abbey for 900 years.

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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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