lundi 28 septembre 2026

Iran link to RAF bomb plot

King blocked from contacting Ranulph Fiennes | Sleep red flags that put you at risk of dementia
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Britain’s most popular daily newsletter, read by more than 850,000

Monday, 28 September 2026

Issue No. 582

Good morning.

Counter-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran was behind a suspected bomb plot targeting a Royal Air Force base used by the US military. RAF Fairford, a key US air force outpost in Europe, has been used by American aircraft to carry out defensive strikes on Iran. Will Bolton, our Crime Correspondent, reports.

Elsewhere, Gordon Rayner, our Associate Editor, brings you another exclusive on Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The Telegraph has learned that the King was blocked from contacting Fiennes by Louise Millington-Cotes, his wife and legal guardian. His Majesty was alerted to the explorer’s declining health and isolation and was “most concerned”.

Chris Evans, Editor

P.S. We’re giving you a whole year of The Telegraph for just £29. If you’re already a subscriber, make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.


 

In today’s edition

‘If Burnham doesn’t want an election, he should stop talking about it’

—

‘We will turn Putin’s new foot soldiers into stewed meat’

—

Plus, the sleep red flags that put you at risk of dementia

 
 

Try 1 year for just £29

Unlock this newsletter, plus full access to our website and app for less than £2.50 a month.

 

Counter-terror police investigate Iran link to suspected RAF base bomb plot

Suspects

The group of suspects are filmed during their arrest

Will Bolton

Will Bolton

Crime Correspondent

 

Counter-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran was behind a suspected bomb plot targeting a Royal Air Force (RAF) base used by US forces.

Five men were arrested yesterday on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offences after being stopped metres from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Security at the base had reportedly been stepped up to its highest level in recent days.

Civilian staff were told not to come in and heavily armoured vehicles were placed in front of entrances.

Military tractors barricade entrances to the base

Despite that, it appears the plot was only disrupted at the last minute after police received a 999 call from a farmer who came across the men acting suspiciously near the base.

She told The Telegraph: “Thank God we spotted them.”

RAF Fairford is a key US air force outpost in Europe and has been used by American aircraft involved in defensive strikes against Iran.

Police are believed to be examining several possible motives, including a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot. However, an Iran-linked motive is currently considered the most probable.

Almost 100 houses were evacuated yesterday and a large police cordon remained in the Whelford area.

This report is available only to subscribers.
Continue reading ➤

Face-to-face with ‘bomb plotters’: Farmer tells of 999 call after stumbling on masked men ➤

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon: RAF Fairford is a warning to Britain ➤

 

Exclusive: King blocked from contacting Ranulph Fiennes by explorer’s wife

Gordon Rayner

Gordon Rayner

Associate Editor

 

The King tried to check on Sir Ranulph Fiennes’s wellbeing but was blocked from doing so by the explorer’s wife, The Telegraph has learnt.

His Majesty, a friend of Fiennes for decades, was alerted to his declining health and isolation by another adventurer, and was “most concerned” by what he was told, one of his staff said at the time.

The King’s equerry contacted the person who had written the letter to ask how the King could get in touch with Fiennes, and was given a phone number for Louise Millington-Cotes, his wife and legal guardian.

The friend who supplied the number to the Palace thought Fiennes would be “thrilled” to know that the King cared so much about him.

Millington-Cotes, however, was angry that the Palace had been given her details, and threatened the intermediary with a solicitor and the police, claiming they were causing her husband “immense distress” and telling them to “back off”.

It is understood that Millington-Cotes declined to put the King in touch with her husband.

She told friends that the King hated her husband and that Queen Camilla had helicopters flown over their property, it is alleged.
For subscribers only ➤

 

Opinion

Christopher Williams Headshot

Christopher Williams

Burnham’s Heathrow retreat has provoked despair, not hope

The PM is tossing one of the few national controversies that Starmer exercised some leadership on

Continue reading ➤

 
 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Oliver Brown</span> Headshot

Oliver Brown

Ireland’s performative nonsense at Israel match was disconcertingly odd

Continue reading ➤

 
 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Dominic Lawson</span> Headshot

Dominic Lawson

De Gaulle’s daughter revealed a different side to an extraordinary man

Continue reading ➤

 

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In other news

• Andy Burnham has refused to back plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport in a break with previous government enthusiasm for the £49bn scheme.

• Labour has been accused of threatening property rights after giving councils the power to seize empty homes after six months. It is also exploring ways to make officials more likely to use the powers.

• Lithuania and Poland are preparing evacuation plans in the event of a Russian attack. Moscow has increasingly been testing Nato’s resolve by ramping up covert attacks on bordering countries.

• Thousands of protesters blocked a controversial Orange Order march through a Catholic neighbourhood in Portadown, Northern Ireland, yesterday in a standoff that stretched into the night.

• An “eyesore” clifftop sculpture that cost £54,000 has been described as a waste of money by angry Bournemouth residents. The art installation has been erected to “reflect the town’s seaside identity”.

 

Your essential reads

‘If Burnham doesn’t want an election, he should stop talking about it’

Andy Burnham insists an early election is off the table. His policy agenda tells a rather different story. Plans for an NHS-style care service have exposed how Labour’s 2024 manifesto constrains the Prime Minister – while inviting colleagues to question why its pledges should bind them today. Tony Diver, our Political Editor, unpicks the contradiction at the heart of Burnham’s conference pitch, and the danger of sketching out a second-term prospectus before securing control of his first.
Continue reading ➤

Burnham urged to fund social care by scrapping triple lock ➤

Camilla Tominey and Bridget Phillipson go head-to-head at Labour conference ➤

 

Robert Brodvi, Ukraine’s drone chief

‘We will turn Putin’s new foot soldiers into stewed meat’

Our journey to meet Robert Brovdi began with a rendezvous on the street in eastern Ukraine, writes Antonia Langford. We handed over our phones, which were sealed in Faraday pouches, before climbing into an SUV with blacked-out windows. It stopped at a secret location, where we were ushered into a command post deep underground. When he arrived, Brovdi was disarming, dispensing Fortnum & Mason tea around the room while alternating chilling promises to turn Russian soldiers into “stewed meat” with witty quips about British drone strategy, which he likened to mixing San Miguel beer with Fortnum’s tea.

Continue reading ➤

 

Strictly’s new ‘throuple’ is an utter disaster

As has been the custom for many, many years, I have dutifully devoted the tail end of my September to thinking about Strictly Come Dancing, writes Chris Bennion. Having seen the opening two episodes of this year’s edition, I can say with some certainty that the new presenting trio is not working. The roles aren’t clearly defined, nor is the hierarchy. It’s a utopian, democratic mess, the cool live-TV expertise of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman replaced by the wide-eyed innocence of this curious threesome. How the BBC will extricate itself from this throuple is a mystery.

Continue reading ➤

 

Nick Mohammed: ‘I want Jerry Hall to win Celebrity Traitors’

Alan Carr may have won the last series of Celebrity Traitors, but Nick Mohammed emerged as the surprise star. Funny, quick-witted and warm, he also proved astonishingly adept on a high wire. Here, he talks to Chris Harvey about the forthcoming series, as well as Slow Horses and War, his glossy new drama.

Continue reading ➤

 

Seize the day

The sleep red flags that put you at risk of dementia

Michael Ryan feared his mother was developing Alzheimer’s when, at the age of 66, she began forgetting words and losing her train of thought. The real culprit emerged only after he heard her gasping for breath while asleep, and treating it restored her cognition within months. Her remarkable recovery exposes an overlooked connection between what happens overnight and the ageing brain. Here are five nocturnal warning signs that could foreshadow dementia, from recurring nightmares to acting out dreams.
Continue reading ➤

 

Money Clinic

How to shield your savings from the Budget

Every Monday between now and the Budget, this newsletter will bring you useful guides to ensure you are financially fit for the announcement.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright

Senior Money Writer

 

Your money is nestled away in a savings account, so it must be safe, right? Well, not necessarily when it comes to Labour.

The Government has already proved that it has no qualms about coming after your nest egg, and savers could remain an easy target for John Healey, the Chancellor, as he looks to raise cash in next month’s Budget.

A controversial Isa shake-up is already confirmed for next April, along with a tax raid on income from savings interest, but further reforms could be on the cards.

Labour could be tempted to tinker with the personal savings allowance, or consider reducing other Isa allowances. As is the custom in today’s high-tax Britain, any changes will most likely take from your nest egg rather than give.

Regardless of what happens, we’ve put together a thorough guide on how best to shield your savings from the taxman in the lead-up to Oct 28.
You can read it here ➤

 

Your say

Memories of Balerno

In last week’s Pride of Place column, Michael Deacon rolled back the years with his memories of Balerno, his hometown. Today, he’s standing in for Orlando Bird to pull out the best of your responses.

Michael writes...
Thank you very much for all your replies to my piece about Balerno, Edinburgh. It was great to hear from so many people who knew it well.


 

Roger Geoffrey Clark noted how unusual it is for a British place name to end in “o”. As it happens, “Balerno” is derived from a Gaelic phrase that doesn’t end in “o”: “Baile irneach”, which means “town of the hawthorns”. Balerno is actually a village, not a town, but perhaps after 700 years, it’s a bit late for a name change.


 

Joyce Denny says she grew up in Currie, the next village along. I’m sure she, and indeed the entire nation, will be excited to learn that the local journal, The Currie & Balerno News, had the privilege of running my first-ever piece of published writing: a poem summarising the plot of Tam O’Shanter by Robert Burns, which I wrote when I was eight years old. God, I was an insufferable child.


 

Speaking of which: Patsy Millar of Helensburgh says Balerno is where she did her first teaching practice. Luckily for her, she never had to teach me, and so was spared my inexplicable and wildly misspelt attempts to rewrite Burns.


 

Someone who, unlike me, was capable of appreciating Balerno’s beauty in childhood is Ann Watt of Kirkcaldy. Her parents bought a bungalow there, and as a teenager she used to enjoy long walks across the Pentland Hills. I took a nostalgic stroll up there myself when I was visiting in May, and they truly are glorious. Although even better in winter, when covered in dazzling snow.


 

Still, I don’t need to tell Marna Hawkins that, because in the 1960s she spent several Christmases in Balerno, at the home of her uncle – and her chief memory is of walking through the snowy Pentlands on Christmas morning.

What a vision that is. Makes me wish I was back there now. Let me know if any more memories spring to mind here.

Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name.

 

On this day

1894 | Simon Marks and Tom Spencer open their first Penny Bazaar in Manchester

1928 | Britain passes the Dangerous Drugs Act, outlawing cannabis

1985 | Brixton riots take place after the shooting of Dorothy Groce by the Met Police (see our front page from the following day below)

2022 | The Bank of England is forced to step in to calm markets after Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget drives the pound to its lowest level against the US dollar of close to $1.03

Birthdays: Hilary Duff (39), Bam Margera (47), Naomi Watts (58), Jon Snow (79)

Telegraph front page

Plus, in the news this week, a British food manufacturer has sounded the alarm over how weight-loss jabs are affecting sales of a classic pastry. Which is it?

1. Cornish pasties
2. Pork pies
3. Sausage rolls

Click one of the options to reveal the answer...

 

Puzzles

Panagram

Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.


 

Yesterday’s Panagram was PARTITION. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.

 

Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow.

Chris Evans, Editor

I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk.

 
 

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dimanche 27 septembre 2026

Britain’s crumbling empire is up for grabs

‘This is the future of racing cars’ | The terrifying reality of postpartum psychosis
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Britain’s most popular daily newsletter, read by more than 850,000

Sunday, 27 September 2026

Issue No. 581

Good morning.

Britain has never looked weaker on the international stage, writes Daniel Johnson. The surrender of the Chagos Islands has emboldened aggressors, such as Argentina’s Javier Milei, to try their luck at taking British overseas territory. What remains of Britain’s crumbling empire might collapse.

In this week’s Music of the Decades instalment, Neil McCormick, our Chief Music Critic, seeks to answer a divisive question: what is the best song of the 1980s? Read on to see who made Neil’s list of top artists below and you can see his rankings of previous musical decades, too.

Allister Heath, Sunday Telegraph Editor

P.S. We’re giving you a whole year of The Telegraph for just £29. If you’re already a subscriber, make sure you’re logged in to read today’s stories.


 

In today’s edition

Kristin Scott Thomas: ‘I’m in my evil woman phase’

—

World’s fastest driver on setting a new record: ‘This is the future of racing cars’

—

Plus, ‘I’m a psychiatrist. This is the terrifying reality of postpartum psychosis’

 
 

Try 1 year for just £29

Unlock this newsletter, plus full access to our website and app for less than £2.50 a month.

 

What’s left of Britain’s crumbling empire is up for grabs

Daniel Johnson

Daniel Johnson

 

When a foreign policy ends in tears, it usually has consequences far beyond the immediate vicinity. Just as the Allies’ ignominious retreats from Iraq and Afghanistan emboldened Iran and the Taliban, so the Chagos surrender signalled to other predators that British overseas territories might be up for grabs, even many thousands of miles away in the South Atlantic.

So it should have been no surprise when Javier Milei, the Argentine maverick, gambled on a concerted campaign to reverse the result of the 1982 Falklands War. He calculated that stirring up revenge fantasies in the Malvinas would boost his flagging popularity.

Beset by foreign policy fiascos and threats from within, Britain has never looked weaker.

What is left of Britain’s withered empire looks about to fall apart and nationalist vultures are gathering over the UK itself with those running the country willing participants in its dismemberment.
Continue reading ➤

 

The 30 best songs of the 1980s, ranked

Neil McCormick

Neil McCormick

Chief Music Critic

 

My Music of the Decades series has reached the 1980s and things are about to get big, brash, colourful and outrageous.

We’re not just talking about hair and make-up. Popular music changed dramatically during this time, as every element could be placed on a computer grid, sampled, sequenced and shifted about with no loss of audio quality.

There were new studio toys… and, boy, did producers and artists want to use them, cramming their records with drum machines and synthesisers.

It was the time of the New Romantics, hip hop, stadium rock, goth, indie, acid house and a flashy new cast of global dance-pop superstars led by Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, George Michael and Whitney Houston.

I have been sifting through the clatter to try and identify the crucial songs that changed pop culture, shaped the future of music and still sound great today.
Continue reading ➤

Have I got it right? Join me in the comment section from 10am to have your say ➤

In case you missed them, read my musical rankings of other decades:

The 30 best songs of the 1950s, ranked ➤

The 30 best songs of the 1960s, ranked ➤

The 30 best songs of the 1970s, ranked ➤

 
 

Opinion

Sir Peter Lampl Headshot

Sir Peter Lampl

I’ve joined the exodus of the wealthy from London, and Sadiq Khan doesn’t care

Our once great capital now has the slowest moving traffic in the world. It’s stopping entrepreneurs getting business done

Continue reading ➤

 
 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Allison Pearson</span> Headshot

Allison Pearson

Strictly won’t survive if it carries on selling out for the youth audience

Continue reading ➤

 
 
<span style="color:#DE0000;">Michael Deacon</span> Headshot

Michael Deacon

How to speak woke: a glossary of the modern Left

Continue reading ➤

 
Matt Cartoon
 

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In other news

Harry Kane missed a penalty that would have put England two goals ahead

 

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Weekend reads

Ireland’s hypocritical treatment of Israel is bleak and bizarre

The mere prospect of playing Israel in a football match has plunged Ireland into a national nervous breakdown, writes Oliver Brown, our Chief Sports Writer. Its team has agonised about whether to boycott today’s match in Debrecen, eastern Hungary, with goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu withdrawing because he believes “the killing of innocent people was wrong”.

But this obsession with Gaza is a case of selective outrage. Ireland recently staged a friendly with Qatar, heavily linked to Hamas, while its cricketers saw no problem in playing Afghanistan last month despite the Taliban’s medieval treatment of women.

Continue reading ➤

 

Credit: Trunk Archive/Jason Hetherington

Kristin Scott Thomas: ‘I’m in my evil woman phase’

I must admit I was a bit nervous about meeting Kristin Scott Thomas, writes Claire Allfree. I needn’t have been. Over the course of an hour, the star of The English Patient and Four Weddings and a Funeral was wonderfully waspish and generous company as she opened up about her traumatic upbringing and the delights of playing the terrifying Diana Taverner in Slow Horses. Next month she returns to the West End, playing a woman forced to sell her family home in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. “It’s a play for our times,” she told me. I can’t think of anyone better to show us why.

Continue reading ➤

 

Credit: James Arbuckle

World’s fastest driver on setting a new record: ‘This is the future of racing cars’

Almost three decades after setting the 763.065mph land speed record, Andy Green, a former RAF pilot, is still pushing the boundaries of the possible, last month driving a hydrogen-powered car faster than anyone before him. He talks about the sensation of supersonic travel on land, his continued fascination with record-breaking and his love for a 1904 steam-powered car.

Continue reading ➤

 

Barnham residents have taken to the streets to protest against plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Barnham Credit: Getty/Martin Pope

Barnham is being lined up as the next Piddington, but we’re fighting back

Barnham boasts only 580 residents, but Whitehall plans to house 1,250 single male asylum seekers less than a mile away at a former RAF base. Fresh from a 100-mile trip to Oxfordshire’s rebellious Piddington, parish leaders are exploring holding a symbolic independence vote of their own to prevent the village from being overwhelmed.

Continue reading ➤

 

Your Sunday

‘I’m a psychiatrist. This is the terrifying reality of postpartum psychosis’

Dr Livia Martucci explains how to recognise the symptoms of postpartum psychosis Credit: Jamie Lorriman

The terrible case of Lindsay Clancy, who killed her three children, has drawn widespread attention to postpartum psychosis (PPP). Affecting around one in 1,000 mothers, PPP is a medical emergency that can cause delusions and hallucinations. Dr Livia Martucci, a consultant perinatal psychiatrist, explains exactly what causes PPP and how it is treated.

Continue reading ➤

 

Simon’s Corner

Why your Ryanair flight is about to soar in price

When was “The Golden Age of Air Travel”? Some may pick a decade in the 20th century, when aviation was an elite activity accompanied by an abundance of glamour and excitement. Those qualities were not immediately apparent when I passed through Luton airport this week. I celebrate the facts that flying is now ultra-safe and Ryanair’s average fare is £50 – under four hours’ work at the national living wage.

Yet the airline’s boss, Michael O’Leary, insists: “Air fares in Europe are far too cheap.” Soaring fuel prices because of the Middle East conflict could make his typical ticket £10 more expensive next year. Before that, winter bargains could prove scarce: Ryanair is filleting off-peak flights, such as midweek hops to Mallorca between early November and the week before Christmas. Reduced capacity spells higher fares and less choice – so grab what you can, and make the most of it now.

Continue reading ➤

 

one great life

David George Gordon, food writer who advocated eating insects for their taste and nutritional value

David George Gordon at Bug Fest 2014 Credit: Tommaso Boddi

David George Gordon, who has died aged 76, was a food writer who passionately advocated the eating of insects. Bugs had, in his view, unfairly acquired a bad press because they competed with humans for the food supply.

As a result, farmers had associated them with dirt and germs, though in reality there was little difference, he said, between eating lobster and eating cockroach.

Preparing dubious snacks for passers-by in Times Square in 2012 Credit: Taylor Hill

Known as the Bug Chef, Gordon published several cookbooks featuring creepy-crawly delicacies. There were few insects that he could not put to culinary use; he devised recipes for bluebottle butties, spider sandwiches and deep-fried tarantula.

He was not an eccentric who sought merely to disgust. When questioned about his love of “entomophagy”, the practice of eating arthropods, he cited the nutritional value offered by insects, and pointed to the environmental benefits of farming bugs rather than livestock.

Read about his fascinating life here ➤

 

On this day

1938 | The Queen Elizabeth, the ocean liner, launches at Clydebank, Scotland (you can see the paper coverage from the following day below)

1960
| Europe’s first “moving pavement”, the travelator, opens at Bank station

2015 | A “supermoon” coincides with a total lunar eclipse, creating a “super blood moon”, visible over much of the Earth

Birthdays: Jenna Ortega (24), Brendon McCullum (45), Gwyneth Paltrow (54)

Front Page
 

Puzzles

Panagram

Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.


 

Yesterday’s Panagram was BACKFIRED. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle.

 

Thank you for reading.

Allister Heath, Sunday Telegraph Editor

I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk.

 
 

Try 1 year for just £29

Unlock this newsletter, plus full access to our website and app for less than £2.50 a month.

 

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