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    The Queen today publicly backed The Prince of Wales to succeed her as the next head of the Commonwealth. She told Commonwealth leaders at Buckingham Palace, It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations, and will decide that one day The Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. It was a highly significant moment for Prince Charles just back from opening the Commonwealth Games in Australia. Her wishes are expected to be formally ratified by the leaders of the 53 leaders tomorrow when they announce Charles as the Commonwealth’s next Head. The Queen went on: "Having on so many occasions been welcomed to opening ceremonies around the Commonwealth, it is a pleasu...

    Theresa May has suffered an embarrassing defeat in the House of Lords over the issue of Britain’s membership of the customs union, increasing pressure on the government to reopen the issue. An amendment to the EU withdrawal bill tabled by crossbencher Lord Kerr, and backed by several senior Conservatives including Lord (Chris) Patten, as well as Labour and the Lib Dems, was passed by a 348 votes to 225 – a majority of 123. The debate on the government’s key piece of Brexit legislation, in a packed chamber, was watched by the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer. Afterwards, he said: “The passing of this cross-party amendment is an important step forward. Theresa May must now listen to the growing chorus of voices who are urging her to drop her red line on a customs...

    Theresa May has won a second symbolic vote on her decision to launch airstrikes, following another day of fraught parliamentary debate on Syria. The prime minister’s advisors believe the result shows she has successfully navigated difficulties arising from her move to push ahead with a military operation without first consulting MPs. But Jeremy Corbyn used the debate to demand that the Commons “take back our control" of decisions to launch any military action, with a new War Powers Act. It came as inspectors were set to finally make it to the site of the alleged Douma chemical weapons attack on Wednesday, with Ms May accusing Moscow of preventing the scientist from doing their work. Ahead of the Commons vote on Syria, Ms May told MPs that coming to parliament befo...

    Emmanuel Macron has angrily confronted critics of last week's Syria air strikes, claiming France, the UK and the US saved the honour of the international community. During a three-hour debate at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the French President was challenged by MEPs opposed to the bombing raids on chemical weapons plants. Responding passionately, he insisted France, the UK and the US had not declared war on Bashar al Assad, but said Syria could not be rebuilt after its civil war if we turn our backs. After the President's opening speech, outlining ambitious proposals to make the EU more democratic, senior MEP Guy Verhofstadt strongly backed the military action, claiming a country that used chemical weapons was a genocidal and illegitimate regime. But af...

    Sergei Skripal The nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury was delivered in a liquid form, it has been revealed. The Department for Environment said one primary location was targeted the Skripal's Wiltshire home. The details emerged as the department announced a major clean-up operation was under way across the city to bring a small number of potentially contaminated sites back into safe use for residents and tourists. Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal were found collapsed on bench in Salisbury The London Road cemetery, the mall where the pair were discovered unconscious, Zizzi and the Ashley Wood compound where the ex-spy's red BMW 3 series was taken after the attack have been handed back over by the police invesigation. The department's ...

    The number of people in work has reached a record high, while earnings have grown slightly above inflation for the first time in almost a year, new figures showed. Employment increased by 55,000 in the quarter to February to 32.2 million, the highest figure since records began in 1971, giving a record rate of 75.4%. Unemployment fell by 16,000 to 1.42 million, the lowest in more than a decade, giving a jobless rate of 4.2%, the lowest since 1975, according to the Office for National Statistics. Average earnings increased by 2.8% in the year to February, unchanged on the previous month and the highest since September 2015. The latest CPI inflation figure is 2.7% and is expected to remain unchanged when new figures are published on Wednesday. Matt Hughes, senior ON...