Critics were horrified from the start at the Starmer government dispatching the King to try to shore up transatlantic relations. All a bit embarrassing and tawdry, they felt. Not to put too fine a point on it, they've worried the King was being pimped out like a royal escort in the knowledge that a narcissistic president would parade his trophy guest, hoping to bask in his royal limelight. Follow the latest on the King's state visit Trump says his love for the royal family goes back to his mother, but he also knows Americans go a bundle for a bit of royal bling, and none of this does any harm to his approval ratings, which are at a record low. The suspicion that Trump would exploit his royal guest was rather borne out when he apparently tried to stick words into the King's mouth, saying Charles agrees with him over Iran getting the bomb. Yes, the King delivered two very good speeches. They appealed to Americans' better nature on NATO, security and Ukraine and gently corrected the record on Britain's commitment to the alliance. They also sailed pretty close to the wind. A descendant of the great tyrant King George III, as Americans remember him, King Charles schooled his hosts in the perils of excessive executive rule by one man. It was quite a moment. Democrats got the point and erupted in appreciation. Donald Trump, who has ruled by executive fiat more than any other president, pretended not to notice. Pointed oratory then, but two good speeches do not necessarily make a worthwhile royal visit. The proof will be in the outcome. King Charles was sent in the hope that his one-man soft power roadshow could improve transatlantic relations, despite the downside, which was potentially considerable. He was, after all, hanging out with a man accused in the Epstein files of raping a woman when she was 13. The FBI took the allegations seriously enough to interview her a number of times. That is quite apart from the other tawdry tales surrounding this president, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. The fact that the King also did not meet any of the survivors of Epstein despite their invitation will rankle with many. So was it worth it? On past form no. The last Trump visit to the UK cost the taxpayer a reported £14m. The unpopular president was given a lavish welcome in Windsor Castle, ringed in high-wall security. Like The Truman Show, it was put on all for the benefit of just one man. Government supporters and pundits applauded the visit as a masterpiece of British soft power. The palace had played a blinder. But that has since proven premature. Relations have since only disintegrated further. In January, the president belittled the enormous sacrifices made by British soldiers in Afghanistan, saying they stayed "a little back, a little off the front lines". In the same month, Trump ratcheted up tariffs on the UK, threatening to revoke them only if Britain supported his hare-brained scheme to buy Greenland. And Britain's refusal to join in with Trump's illegal war on Iran has plunged relations to a new nadir. Read more:Best pictures so far from the King's US state visitUnpacking the King's speech to Congress King Charles is a past master at handling colourful characters and extracting the maximum soft power potential. But even he has had his work cut out salvaging anything from the steaming mess of transatlantic relations under Donald Trump. The visit undoubtedly bolsters Britain's image and prestige among Americans generally, but was that ever in doubt? It also shores up support with the president's political opponents, useful should they ever get their acts together and their hands back on power. But do not expect anything more than a passing sugar high in relations with the administration in Washington under this president.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office claim the 21-year-old musician killed Celeste Rivas Hernandez then dismembered her body in his garage when she threatened to disclose details about their relationship. D4vd, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, has denied murdering the teenager and pleaded not guilty to several other counts, including lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and mutilating a dead body. A court filing, outlining evidence to be presented at a preliminary evidentiary hearing set to begin on 26 May, claims the singer met Ms Hernandez, from Lake Elsinore in California, when she was 11 and began a sexual relationship with her when she was 13 and he was 18. The document alleges: "Knowing he had to silence the victim before she ruined his music career as she had threatened, very soon after her arrival at his home, [the] defendant stabbed the victim to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out." Prosecutors say Burke purchased tools online, including two chainsaws, and claim he "took horrifying measures" to try and dispose of the body, which was found in two bags in a Tesla registered to the singer in September. The car had been towed from the Hollywood Hills to an impound yard, where authorities were alerted to a foul smell coming from the vehicle. An autopsy report said Ms Hernandez died from "multiple penetrating injuries caused by objects". 'A beautiful, strong girl' Last week, prosecutors said a "significant amount" of child sex abuse images had been recovered during an investigation into Burke following his arrest on 16 April. A few days earlier, Ms Hernandez's parents, Jesus Rivas and Mercedes Martinez, in their first public statement in the case, described their daughter as "a beautiful, strong girl who loved to sing and dance". "All we want is justice for Celeste," they added. In court on Wednesday, Burke's attorneys asked the judge to block the release of the prosecution's document, which was denied. They had no comment outside court. Read more from Sky News:Ex-FBI chief appears in court over Trump 'threat'Follow: US state visit latest Following the hearing next month, a judge will determine whether the case will go to trial. Burke is eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors have not confirmed whether they will seek it. The singer, known for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop, gained success with his 2022 hit Romantic Homicide and last year performed at Coachella music festival.

The housing minister said legislation to abolish the feudal-era property system and transition to a commonhold model will be passed before the next election. Politics Live: Starmer's cabinet split over reshuffle But he said switching on the ban for both leasehold flats and houses "involves some really quite complex trade-offs", so the commencement date may come later. "I'm not saying there's no chance, but I think it's highly likely that we don't switch on the ban in this parliament," Mr Pennycook said. The minister was speaking to journalists after a speech in which he reaffirmed his party's manifesto commitment to "bring the feudal leasehold system to an end". The Greens have accused Labour of U-turning as the ban will only apply to new leasehold properties and there have been delays in bringing this legislation forward. In his speech Mr Pennycook insisted that "the aim of this government, by the end of this parliament, is nothing short of its dismantling and the corresponding emancipation of leaseholders". However, he argued that an immediate outright ban would be impossible given the legal complexities of outlawing a system that originated in medieval times, accusing Zack Polanski's party of "glib soundbites". "Anyone, with even the most rudimentary knowledge of leasehold, knows that the outright and immediate abolition of circa five million English and Welsh leases is almost certainly impossible," Mr Pennycook said. He said those advocating for this approach "cannot answer how it would be lawful; how the impact on the mortgage market would be managed; how it would even be feasible for the land registry to delete millions of leasehold and freehold titles and replace them with commonhold ones overnight". "They can't answer these questions because abolishing leasehold outright is a glib soundbite rather than a serious policy proposition." 'Biggest shakeup in 1,000 years' Leasehold tenures give homeowners the right to live in their property for a given number of years but they don't own the land it is on. Leaseholders have complained of spiralling services charges to keep up with the maintenance of their building, which they have no say or control over, as well as ground rents to their freeholder landlords, which can cause barriers to selling and don't require a service in return. The system is almost unique to England and Wales, with most countries operating a commonhold model for communal buildings - where flat owners manage and own their buildings jointly. Speaking to media following his speech, Mr Pennycook said abolishing leasehold is the biggest shakeup to homeownership for 1,000 years. On the timeline, he said the government's priority is to have "all the primary legislation that we need to end leasehold in place" by the end of this parliament. "The commonhold legal framework will be fixed, I think you'll see developers start to bring forward commonhold developments out of choice," he said. "But switching on the ban involves some really quite complex trade-offs with housing supply and other issues." He added that the government's objective is to ensure a "smooth transition", and a commencement date would be named within this parliament which would apply to flats and houses at the same time. Legislation to ban the sale of new leasehold houses has already been passed - in the Conservatives' 2024 Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, which was rushed through parliament in the "wash up" period after Rishi Sunak's decision to call an early general election. But most leasehold properties are flats and the legal framework to ban this is in Labour's Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform bill, which was introduced in January. 'Leaseholders have run out of patience' This bill will also contain measures to cap ground rents at £250 a year and set out how existing leaseholders can transition to commonhold if they want to. Reforms to make the system fairer in the meantime are contained within the 2024 act, but many of these are yet to be enacted, which Mr Pennycook has blamed on flaws in the previous government's legislation which need to be corrected. Responding to today's speech, the National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) welcomed Mr Pennycook's "honesty and clarity" but said leaseholders had "run out of patience". And Harry Scoffin, founder of campaign group Free Leaseholders, said: "Listening to the minister's list of excuses of complexity and powerlessness, you could be forgiven for missing that this Labour government enjoys the second-largest majority in the ruling party's 126-year history."

Substitute Eze went to ground in the box when he was challenged by David Hancko on 78 minutes. There was foot-on-foot contact and the Gunners looked set to have the opportunity to retake the lead. But VAR stepped in and advised referee Danny Makkelie to go to the monitor. After watching multiple replays, Makkelie decided to rule out the penalty-kick he had awarded and the game finished level, ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal - Match report | As it happened | Teams | StatsDownload the Sky Sports app Arteta gave a damning assessment of the decision when he spoke to TNT Sports immediately after the game. "After going back into the dressing room, speaking to the boys and watching the penalty incident, it's extremely disappointing and annoying because it was against the rules and it changes the course of the tie," he said. "I'm very, very upset. "The whole sequence. There is clear contact. You make the decision, you cannot overturn that decision when you have to look at it 13 times. It's completely unacceptable at this level. "It's the wrong decision." Asked in his post-match press conference if Arsenal would protest the decision to UEFA, Arteta said: "I leave that to the club to decide what's the best thing to do. Now they're not going to give us a penalty. That's it. That's gone." This was a match defined by three penalties. Arsenal led at half-time through a spot-kick won and scored by Viktor Gyokeres, when Hancko was again involved, bundling over the striker from behind. But an improved Atletico levelled after the break through Julian Alvarez when VAR spotted a handball by Ben White from Marcos Llorente's shot and sent referee Makkelie to the monitor. Despite the ball deflecting off White's knee against his hand, a penalty was awarded. On that decision, Arteta conceded the interpretation of handball in the Champions League is different to the Premier League. "They have been consistent with that," he said. "If you are going to give a penalty for this kind of thing you have to accept it." The handball call against White followed an even more controversial decision to punish Alphonso Davies in Paris Saint-Germain's win over Bayern Munich in the other semi-final. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher posted on X to say UEFA must address the definition around handball in the Champions League. "The Champions League is the best football by a mile, but these penalty decisions for handball really are a stain on the competition. Last [night's] was worse but that should not be a penalty against White," he said. Arteta 'proud' of Arsenal: 'It's in our hands' Reflecting on his team's overall performance in Madrid, Arteta said: "I'm very proud, I said that to the boys, the way we handled the context for nine-and-a-half months, just remarkable. "I really value what they've done because I've seen some of the best teams in the world here fall apart and concede three and four. "We didn't get the result that we wanted, and the way we planned the game, we wanted to win it. At least it is in our hands, in front of our people. "We want to be in that final and in a week's time we are going to have the opportunity to do so."

Members of the RAF Regiment, using counter-drone missile systems, blasted more than 100 of the unmanned aircraft out of the sky during roughly six weeks of combat before a temporary ceasefire deal was agreed between Washington and Tehran in early April. It is the first time the intensity of the conflict for British troops deployed to the region on defensive operations has become clear. Sky News was given rare access to the base, which is a frontline for UK military personnel. "I would argue this place would be a smouldering wreck if it wasn't for you guys," Alistair Carns, the armed forces minister, said during a visit to the site last week along with Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, the head of the Royal Air Force. The sprawling facility, which Sky News has agreed not to identify for security reasons, was one of the most targeted coalition bases across the whole of the Middle East as Iranian forces and their proxy militias in Iraq retaliated to US and Israeli bombardments. American troops are also located at the site and contribute to its defences. While there have been no direct hits in the past three weeks, personnel are on alert in case the fighting resumes. Air Chief Marshal Smyth said the conflict has demonstrated the vital importance of being able to intercept drones. He told Sky News that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is considering expanding the UK's counter-drone capability as part of a much-delayed investment plan that has yet to be published. "Yes, that's definitely a discussion that we're having," he said in an interview. An 'Iron Dome' for the UK? In addition to being deployed across the Middle East, the Royal Air Force has the lead responsibility for protecting the UK's skies from drone and missile threats. But what is known as integrated air and missile defence is expensive, and it was significantly pared back following the end of the Cold War. Air Chief Marshal Smyth said it will be regrown - though he indicated that the scale of protection will depend on the price tag that the government is willing to pay. The kind of "Iron Dome" that Israel has constructed to protect its people and critical infrastructure would be very costly. Asked to give a sense of the expansion in air and missile defence that the UK needs, the head of the RAF said: "It all starts with your appetite for what you need to defend. "If you wanted to have an equivalent of an Iron Dome over the whole of the UK, the numbers would be huge. If the discussion is around protecting key cities and key critical national infrastructure areas, then those numbers are smaller." He said he could not reveal details about internal discussions on increasing Britain's defences against drone and missile threats. But he said: "We do understand the task, and we do understand what the scale-up would be required, and that discussion is being had." At the base, two members of the RAF Regiment – the air force's ground troops – shared their experiences of operating a counter-drone system called Rapid Sentry that fires four laser-guided missiles against incoming threats. 'If you're good at Xbox, this is for you' Sitting in a cabin close to the weapon, which is situated on a mound, they use a control panel – a bit like a video game controller – to steer a munition on to a target. The pair said being good at computer games is a handy skill for a counter-drone operator. "I mean, with the adrenaline buzz going through it [when taking out drones for real], I probably don't have that much going through when I am playing Call Of Duty," said Air Specialist (Class 1) Durso-Colville, 22. "But, yeah, it is all in the thumbs. It is all in the thumbs. If you are good at video games, you will probably be good at this." His colleague, Air Specialist (Class 1) Westworth, 21, said: "It is a little bit different to the Xbox controller, but the concept is pretty much the same. "If you are good at Xbox and PlayStation, then I think this is probably the one for you." Both servicemen have been made "aces" because they have taken down more than five enemy drones. The "aces" title – created during the Second World War – is more commonly associated with fighter pilots. The extension of the honour to drone combatants is an indication of the evolving character of warfare. Mr Carns, addressing RAF Regiment personnel and other troops in a makeshift cabin on the base, said the unit's efforts are helping the whole UK armed forces to learn about drones. Read more from Sky News:UK's defence pact under threat, MPs warnPush to transform UK military is a 'fiasco' He said Russia's war in Ukraine was the first signal about the emerging importance of uncrewed systems, with the Iran conflict driving home the shift in how war is waged. Mr Carns, a Royal Marine reservist, said: "If the teacher was Ukraine, the headmaster has just come in – Iran – and hit us with a ruler and told us to wake up, and you guys are the very cutting edge of it, above and beyond anybody else." Coalition forces have been deployed to the base in Iraq for more than a decade to counter the threat from the Islamic State.

Sir Stephen, 68, is suing CogX Festival Limited and Blonstein Events after breaking multiple bones in the fall following a talk he gave at the east London venue during the CogX festival in September 2023. High Court documents filed earlier this month said that, after giving a presentation, he fell "whilst exiting the stage backstage area", falling "approximately two metres from the stage to the concrete floor below". The two companies were negligent and/or failed in their statutory duty, he claimed, by "failing to ensure that the stage and backstage area were safe, adequately lit and properly protected to prevent a fall from height". The actor and presenter's claim is for "personal injuries and consequential losses up to £100,000, which includes an award for pain, suffering and loss of amenity exceeding £1,000, together with interest on damages… and costs". Read more:The cowboy builders ruining livesDinner attack suspect's selfies revealedBest pictures from King's US visit In December 2023, Sir Stephen told Claudia Winkleman's BBC Radio 2 programme that he broke his right leg "in a couple of places", as well as "my hip and my pelvis in four places and a bunch of ribs" in the fall. He said: "I did my bow after delivering this lecture, turned to go off stage and didn't realise that I was walking off a part of the stage where there was nothing. "Six-foot drop on to concrete." Keith Barrett, a partner at law firm Fieldfisher - which is representing Sir Stephen, said they had to take action because "the defendants do not accept Sir Stephen's account of events, and we have had to ask the court to determine who is responsible for his injury and losses". No hearing has yet been scheduled in the claim. Sky News has approached CogX Festival and Blonstein Events for comment.

I've been told by three senior government sources that there are divisions at the very top over how to handle the fallout of the May elections as Downing Street braces for heavy losses and vocal criticism from MPs and councillors. The Labour Party could lose more than 2,000 council seats in England and control of the Senedd in Wales for the first time since devolution began in 1999. Politics latest: Starmer faces bruising PMQs Sources tell me that the prime minister's acting chief of staff Vidhya Alakeson and key cabinet figure Darren Jones, secretary to the prime minister, are advising Sir Keir to pause on a reshuffle while political director Amy Richards and chief whip Johnny Reynolds, two Starmer lieutenants trying to manage the party, are pushing for one. "They are both trying to get his ear," said one figure of Alakeson and Richards. "Keir is undecided." Those opposed to a reshuffle question whether it would be foolhardy to start trying to move some in the cabinet at such a febrile time. "You can imagine a scenario where the prime minister calls up a cabinet minister to move them, and they reply they have lost confidence in him, where does he go from there?" said one minister. Another senior figure told me they "don't think a reshuffle is a good idea right now". "The PM needs a more public-facing moment about the country and where we are going," they added. A couple of weeks ago, government figures were heavily briefing that there would be a post election reshuffle as the prime minister sought to demonstrate that he was moving to phase two of his government, with a change of the top team ahead of the King's Speech on 12 May, which will set out the government's legislative agenda for the next session of parliament. I'm told that the preference of Richards and Reynolds is to put some of the softer left wing of the party back into the top team in order to placate MPs who are casting around for a different leader, with Andy Burnham being talked up even though he is not an MP and therefore couldn't stand if there was a leadership race after the May elections. However, some MPs believe Mr Burnham would be a better leader to fight Nigel Farage on the right and Zack Polanski on he left. "He's a clean skin and hasn't been part of Starmer's cabinet," said one MP. Read more:Travel influencer missing in MoroccoOver two thirds of under twos use screens Names in the frame to be brought back into the cabinet are leading figures on the soft left: Angela Rayner, Lucy Powell and Lou Haigh, while Liz Kendall, the science secretary, and Peter Kyle, the business secretary, are being spoken of by party sources as vulnerable if Sir Keir does decide to change his top team. The prime minister has had a conversation with Angela Rayner about her return to government when he saw her at a campaign visit arranged in the former deputy leader's constituency. But I understand that no offer was made or accepted during the course of that conversation. Sir Keir has publicly said he'd like Rayner to return to cabinet. As for Rayner, she's undecided on whether to go back in, given the current state of play and uncertainty around Sir Keir's future.

The nine-goal thriller was the first time in a European semi-final match that both teams scored four or more goals. Kane, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot, declared at full-time on Amazon Prime: "Even though there was nine goals scored, there was some amazing defending out there. PSG 5-4 Bayern Munich: Match report & reactionAs it happened | Teams | StatsChampions League results and fixturesDownload the Sky Sports app "You've got the best players in the world. The best attackers, the best defenders. Of course, sometimes the attackers are going to come out on top and show their quality. "When you go back and look at the centre-halves playing in midfield, in attack sometimes, out wide against the wingers, credit to them. It's a really hard job. I thought they were outstanding." Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany questioned those unhappy with the amount of goals scored, while also agreeing with Kane that the defending was 'good.' But Rooney had a different view. He told Amazon Prime: "I love Harry Kane. Everyone can see that on the words I say about him. But, there's no way he can be praising his defenders. "Maybe because they are his team-mates. He's trying to give them a bit of confidence for next week. The defending from both teams was really bad. If he's being honest. "Both teams have so much quality at the top end of the pitch that they probably forgot to defend. That means we get to enjoy some great goals. "But, what the better players do is find a way through. When you're playing against top attackers, you need to adapt. "You don't hear defenders communicating anymore. You used to hear Jamie Carragher screaming at his defenders for Liverpool. It used to annoy me, but it got his full-backs back in. "You don't get that level of communication now. That's as a result of the coaching." The ex-England captain added: "It was a crazy and chaotic game. "Luis Enrique is a top coach so when they get the advantage of 5-2, I think he should have said 'let's shut up shop and get behind the ball'. "But they went for more goals and Vincent Kompany has got a very attack-minded [Bayern] team. "We saw some immature defending, which is crazy." Enrique: We deserved to win, lose and draw Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique gave an honest assessment of his side's part in the thriller. After the game, he told the press: "We won the match, of course, we are happy, very happy. "But after being 5-2 up you think you can have a better result. I think we deserved to win the match, but we also deserved to draw and we even deserved to lose." Carra: Almost impossible to stop the goals Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher lauded the attacking play in the joint-highest scoring semi-final match in European Cup history. He told CBS Sports: "Normally when I see a game like that I'll say 'the defending is not good enough' or 'it is not up to the standard of this level of football'. "But what I would say is: Every attacking player on the pitch was an eight or nine out of 10. Every attacking player got the better of their counterpart. "When I remember the goals, it wasn't like there was a goalkeeper howler or something stupid defensively, it felt like the goals were just great goals. "It wasn't like defenders made a fool of themselves. The attacking play was that high it was almost impossible to stop the goals." Henry: Risks were rewarded The goal-fest at the Parc des Princes means PSG (43) and Bayern Munich (42) have both scored more than 40 goals in the Champions League this season. Reacting on CBS Sports, Thierry Henry added: "We've been talking a lot about teams who don't take enough risks. We talk about teams not losing the game rather than winning it. "Tonight we had plenty of risk. If we have our defensive hats on you might go crazy with what you saw tonight. "But I don't care. People have been complaining football is boring. That game was not boring. It was just crazy at times." This is why football fans love the beautiful game Analysis by Sky Sports' Callum Bishop: "Tonight has acted as a reminder of how beautiful football can be when played in its most free-flowing state, at a time when some may argue that tactics and systems have made it become formulaic. "Watching the game tonight reminded me of the first memory I ever had falling in love with football. It just so happened to also be a Champions League semi-final first leg when Manchester United faced AC Milan at Old Trafford in 2007. "Milan's second goal came when Kaka produced an outrageous piece of skill to send Patrice Evra and Gabriel Heinze crashing into each other and sprawled out on the deck. He then showed immaculate composure to slot past Edwin van der Sar. "It was poetry in motion, something that has at times been stripped from the modern game. But tonight, there were so many of those moments that just took your breath away. "It leads to a goal fest, and that should be celebrated. Sure, goalkeepers and defenders won't be happy, but ask anyone else and they would rather see spectacles like this every week. "This is the beautiful game summed up in its purist form across 90 minutes. And we still have at least another 90 to go in this tie." The greatest CL tie ever? What you had to say Following the end of the game, Sky Sports invited fans to share their thoughts on the madness in Paris, with many labelling it as one of the best contests they had ever witnessed. Mark: This is how football should be played, fast, entertaining, end to end. This was a throwback to yesteryear and nothing like modern boring football. Scott B: Feel sorry for anyone who missed that game. Great day to be a neutral, that's what football is about! Joe: Not only was that the greatest Champions League semi-final ever, but I've been watching football for many, many years and I think that's one of the best games ever. Andrew: There are levels to this game. This game has proven to all English clubs that they've got some catching up to do. That was sensational. Mikey: I am an Arsenal fan, but whoever goes through from our tie has no hope in the final!