Friday evening news briefing: Police officer shot dead at station in Croydon by detainee
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Shock as police officer shot dead at station by detainee
A "much loved" police sergeant was shot dead by a detainee at a south London custody suite. The victim died in hospital after the gunman opened fire at Croydon custody centre at around 2.15am. The 23-year-old murder suspect, who is believed to have shot himself, is in a critical condition in hospital. Cressida Dick, the Met Commissioner, confirmed the victim was a "long-serving sergeant" but, at the time of writing, his identity has not yet been revealed while officers try to trace his next of kin. A murder probe has been launched as investigators try to establish how the gun got into the custody suite. Our liveblog has the latest.
London added to Covid-19 'watch list' as R rate rises
London has been added to the national Covid-19 "watch list" following a spike in infections. A formal Public Health England announcement will take place later today, but the news has already been confirmed this morning by London Councils. This week London mayor Sadiq Khan had said further lockdown measures in the capital could not be ruled out. Meanwhile, the UK has recorded 6,874 new laboratory-confirmed cases of Covid-19, the highest single-day figure since the pandemic began. It also emerged today that the estimate for the R number nationally - the reproduction rate of the virus - is between 1.2 and 1.5. Last week, the R number was between 1.1 to 1.4. Our liveblog has the latest.
It comes as Rishi Sunak surges ahead of Boris Johnson in the polls, despite the Chancellor's stark warning that his new jobs package would only support those deemed "viable". These graphs show how Mr Sunak's job satisfaction rating has changed. The Chancellor may be buoyed by a report claiming the majority of Britions would support a 10p in the pound increase in income tax for high earners. Yet Katy Balls wonders whether Mr Sunak's rise will continue all the way to No 10, having only avoided the moment of reckoning on the economy for now.
Princess Eugenie is pregnant with her first child
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank are expecting their first child in the new year, Buckingham Palace has announced. The couple, who married at St George's Chapel in October 2018, will be having a baby in early 2021. The baby will be a first grandchild for Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, and a ninth great-grandchild for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. The Princess confirmed the news with a touching photo on her Instagram page. Read on for what we know.
At a glance: Latest coronavirus headlines
Vaccine race | China prepares to declare victory in search
'An ethical can of worms' | Why challenge trials are so controversial
Travel latest | UK's holiday map shrinks as Poland joins 'amber zone'
Drinking-up time | Pubs plea as police enforce 'hard' 10pm curfew
Panic buying | Tesco follows Morrisons and imposes limits on staples
Also in the news: Today's other headlines
Molly Russell | Facebook has handed over 10,000 pages of "dreadful" material from Molly Russell's Instagram account ahead of an inquest into the schoolgirl's death, as lawyers said it was difficult for even adults to look at. The legal team for the 14-year-old's family, who was found dead at her home in 2017, said they received the evidence just the night before they were due to update the coroner on whether tech giants were complying with legal orders to release data from Molly's accounts.
Rare apology | Kim Jong-un 'very sorry' over killing of South Korean
'War game' planning | What happens if Trump refuses to go quietly?
'Diva of divorce' | Boss criticised for banning cardigans at law firm
'Read before you retweet' | Tool rolled out across Twitter
Evel Knievel | Daredevil's son sues Disney over Toy Story 4 character
Around the world: Attack by ex-Charlie Hebdo offices
Two people were injured, one badly, in a knife attack in Paris today near the former offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. One suspect has been arrested near the Bastille plaza in eastern Paris, according to police. A security cordon has been erected around the former offices of Charlie Hebdo and bomb disposal experts have been called in following the discovery of a package. Read on for the latest.
Friday interview
'I think female desire is a complex subject’
Victoria Hamilton – the Queen Mother in 'The Crown' – tells Chris Harvey about her very different new role in BBC One's 'Life'
Comment and analysis
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Sunak plan risks 1930s-style job losses
Liam Halligan | Mass unemployment will further convulse politics
Sonia Friedman | Government willing to discard UK's mental health
Benedict Spence | National Trust's self-flagellation is virtue signalling
Jamie Carragher | Man Utd are now a club that caves under pressure
Editor's choice: Features and arts
Katie Morley Investigates | 'I lost £90k after fat-fingered typo ruined a bank transfer'
Long road to recovery | 'I had to leave the nursing job I love because of long-Covid'
How I move | Personal trainer Alice Liveing on why weight loss isn't everything
Business and money briefing
Retail jobs bloodbath | The boss of Next has warned that city centres must adapt to lower footfall and many retail jobs will be lost as consumers shift more permanently online in the wake of the pandemic. Lord Simon Wolfson said that while many retail jobs were likely to be lost, Next “won’t draw very much” on the Government’s Jobs Support Scheme announced by the Chancellor on Thursday. Read on for details.
Revolution Bars | Radical restructuring imminent amid 10pm curfew
Axel Springer | Heiress makes media boss an instant billionaire
On top of markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day
Sport briefing
Football | Leeds United are looking to sign AZ Alkmaar captain Teun Koopmeiners to bolster Marcelo Bielsa’s midfield. Read on for details. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has launched his latest attack on Barcelona's hierarchy by criticising the way the club treated strike partner Luis Suarez, who left for La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid this week.
Russian Grand Prix | What happened in practice in Sochi
Somerset vs Essex | Latest from day three of Bob Willis Trophy final
Will Greenwood | Why I love watching Wigglesworth and Iribaren
Tonight's TV
Utopia, Amazon Prime | Gillian Flynn, the bestselling author of Gone Girl, clearly has an extraordinary feel for the zeitgeist – teeing up this US reboot of the British cult TV classic about the hunt for a deadly virus/vaccine, well before the pandemic axe fell. Read on for more.
And finally... for this evening's downtime
Daryl Hall interview | Ask one half of Hall & Oates, the most successful rock duo of all time, to name their peers and rivals in the pair's Peak Eighties pomp, and he expresses bafflement. As their ode to positivity You Make My Dreams reaches a billion streams, Daryl Hall talks to Craig Mclean about hits, hipness, and historic houses.
