Travellers are confronting prolonged travel chaos after Heathrow was abruptly closed by a serious blaze, with 1,300 flight cancellations and doubts emerging around the airport’s capacity to cope with such incidents.

The leader of the opposition, previously cautious about sending personnel abroad, has shifted towards supporting a more extensive policy involving deployments on the ground, subject to coordination with allied partners.

The Federal Reserve lowered its growth outlook and held interest rates steady, attributing the slowdown to heightened trade pressures and caution in the economy.

Reeves will intensify efforts to tighten public expenditure next week, maintaining a strategy of budget constraints that includes a £5bn reduction in welfare.