Police will this morning issue an update on a murder investigation launched after human remains were found wrapped in plastic in a nature reserve in Salford. Greater Manchester Police are holding a press conference at Kersal Wetlands, close to where the gruesome discovery was made by a passer-by on Thursday afternoon.
Yesterday police revealed the body parts belong to a man 'likely to be older than 40' who 'could not have survived'.
Forensic investigators, search teams and the dog unit have been 'working round the clock' and remain at the scene, but as of yesterday morning no other remains had been discovered.
Police say the man had been deceased for a 'only matter of days'. Efforts are now being made to identify the victim, including the use of DNA tests.
Speaking yesterday Chief Supt Tony Creely said: "At the heart of our investigation is this man and his family. We are using all forensic techniques available to identify him as soon as we can so we are able to support his loved ones during this devastating time."
The press conference is due to begin at 11am. Follow our live blog below for updates...
Detective Inspector Martin Thorpe, from the Metropolitan Police's specialist crime command, which is leading the investigation, said: "I understand the significant concern this discovery will have caused to local people, and I want to thank the community for their patience."
He added: "Although we are unable to formally identify the victim at this time, my team are working around the clock in order to do so.
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"Their enquiries have made significant progress and I will provide a further update as soon as possible."
Preparing the nation for war is the best way to maximise the chance of peace - but the UK is a "very long way behind", a former defence minister has warned.
In a sign of how alien the idea of homeland defence has become to Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, James Heappey said officials declined to take part in a "whole of government" exercise to practice evacuating to a bunker in the event of war.
It was a drill former defence secretary Ben Wallace had pushed for "to get people down to the bunker so they could see what their working environment in war would be", Mr Heappey wrote in an article for the Sunday Telegraph.
"In the end, rather depressingly, it was just defence ministers, senior military officers and MoD (Ministry of Defence) officials that participated."
His damning intervention came after Sky News this week revealed that the government has no national plan for the defence of the UK or the mobilisation of its people and industry in a war despite renewed threats of conflict.
Image:In a series - called Prepared For War? - Sky News explores how prepared the UK is for the possibility of armed conflict
Officials have started to develop a cross-government "national defence plan" amid warnings from ministers that the UK has moved into a "pre-war world".
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But any shift back to a Cold War-style, ready-for-war footing would require political leaders to make defence a genuinely national effort once again, sources told Sky News.
Mr Heappey said there must be a new focus on strategic resilience - such as securing food and energy supplies and repurposing industry to build weapons - as well as more money for defence.
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Piling pressure on Rishi Sunak, he wrote: "Only a foolish PM wouldn't see that the long-term trend is towards global instability that could easily lead to a new cold war and perhaps something even hotter.
"Preparing for war now both through increasing spending on defence but also through a focus on our strategic resilience is the best way to maximise the chance of peace."
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2:26
From February: UK's 'warfighting readiness' in doubt
Mr Heappey said he did not believe World War Three was imminent but he heaped praise on Sweden for how it has prepared its citizens for potential conflict.
He described receiving a booklet from the Swedish civil defence minister which explained what citizens should do in time of war, including the sort of provisions they should hold.
"He gave me a copy of that booklet and I kept it on my desk thereafter. It's a stark reminder that war is a whole nation endeavour and, to be frank, in the UK we're a very long way behind."
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2:53
From March: James Heappey steps down as MP
On the bunker drill, the former minister said that all secretaries of state - not just defence - have a desk and a bed ready for them in a bunker.
This is not so they are able to survive a nuclear attack "for re-populating our islands after the apocalypse" but "because their departments are as integral to the war effort as the MoD".
It was a fundamental part of working in government during the Cold War - a discipline that has all but disappeared despite renewed threats from Russia following Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as well as war in the Middle East and concerns about China.
"I suspect there are plenty of cabinet ministers who don't even know where their desk or bed in the bunker is," Mr Heappey wrote.
"There might even be one or two who don't even know where the bunker is!"
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The UK once had a large network of bunkers, built during the Cold War, to help keep some form of regional governments running in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.
However, most of these subterranean safe-houses stopped being used in the 1990s when the Cold War ended.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind
Dozens of flights have been cancelled as Storm Kathleen brings strong winds and the warmest day of the year so far to the UK.
About 140 flights departing and arriving at UK airports were cancelled after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind.
Rail and ferry services have also been affected in Scotland.
Wind gusts of over 70mph (112km/h) swept many parts and temperatures hit 21.4C (70.5F) in eastern England.
The strongest gusts of 101mph were recorded at the summit of Cairngorm, a mountain in the Scottish Highlands.
The year's warmest temperature was recorded in Lakenheath, Suffolk, on Saturday, BBC Weather said. This beat the previous high of 19.9C in north-west Scotland in January.
The most significant impacts of the storm have been felt in the north-west and south-west of England and parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Thousands of passengers experienced delays when flights were cancelled at airports including Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Belfast City.
The vast majority of flights affected were those travelling within the UK and to and from the island of Ireland.
EasyJet flights to and from the Isle of Man were also halted.
The 11th named storm in eight months, Storm Kathleen was named by the Irish met service, Met Éireann, because the Republic of Ireland was expected to feel its effects most acutely.
Around 12,000 customers have been left without electricity as the storm moves across the island of Ireland, where trees have fallen in the strong winds.
In Northern Ireland, Met Office yellow wind warning for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry is set to lift at 22:00 BST on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, part of the roof of the Titanic Belfast museum was damaged by the storm.
Some Irish Sea coastal regions have seen gusts of 69mph and large waves.
In Capel Curing, north Wales, wind speeds reached 68mph.
Coastal areas in Ireland have been hit by high winds
P&O Ferries cancelled ferry services travelling between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland, with ferry services to and from the Isle of Man also disrupted.
The strong winds have also seen sports matches rearranged, with Saturday evening's EPCR Challenge Cup rugby match between Edinburgh and Bayonne moved from the Hive Stadium to Murrayfield.
Storm Kathleen is expected to ease by Sunday evening.
The Met Office has warned of "large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts"
BBC weather forecaster George Goodfellow said the storm had brought warm air from north-west Africa over the North Atlantic.
He said: "It's still sat out there to the west of the UK - it's fairly slow-moving, as much as we've had strong winds. We're expecting further strong winds tomorrow as well."
While eastern parts of the country have been "a bit on the windy side in places, the main thing is how warm it's been," the forecaster added.
"It's not unusual to get such warm temperatures in April, but looking at the temperatures we've had recently, [Saturday is] quite a lot warmer than it has been. To suddenly break through the 20 degree barrier is quite impressive," he said.
The highest recorded temperature for April was 29.4C, recorded in Camden Square in London in 1949, Mr Goodfellow said.
While the storm is not unusual in terms of its intensity, he said the fact Storm Kathleen will last until Sunday means "it's a fairly long-lived thing."
More than 110 flood alerts are in place across England. The Environment Agency has issued 15 flood warnings where flooding is expected.
RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said: "This intense period of stormy weather is going to prove extremely challenging for anyone driving on the western side of the UK.
"We strongly urge drivers to avoid exposed coasts and higher routes where the impact of the very strong winds is most likely to be felt."
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A 27-year-old woman has died after being stabbed in Bradford city centre, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers were called to Westgate, near Drewton Road, at 15:21 BST on Saturday over reports a woman was stabbed by a man, who later fled.
She was taken to hospital but later died of her injuries, police said.
Det Ch Insp Stacey Atkinson said it happened "in broad daylight in a busy area" - as a murder investigation was launched.
She added police were working to locate and arrest the man responsible.
The woman has not been formally identified, but her family have been informed.
The force appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage.
"A scene remains in place which includes some road closures and I thank the public for their patience while we conduct our enquiries," Det Ch Insp Atkinson said.
Dozens of UK flights were cancelled on Saturday as Storm Kathleen brought winds of up to 70mph and triggered the warmest day of the year so far.
About 140 flights departing and arriving at UK airports were cancelled, leaving travellers stranded in Edinburgh, Belfast, Manchester and Birmingham. The Met Office also issued a yellow weather warning for the north-west and south-west of England and parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Temperatures reached 20.9C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, making it provisionally the hottest day of the year, as warm air poured in from the continent.
Ellie Glaisyer of the Met Office said: “The storm is the reason we are seeing the warmer temperatures because its location – situated out towards the west of the UK – is bringing a southerly wind across the UK. Almost anywhere is going to see above-average temperatures.”
Storm Kathleen is likely to ease by Saturday evening.
However, another weather system heading towards the south-west is expected to replace it, Glaisyer added. “Outbreaks of rain through Monday will mainly affect western parts of the UK.”
In Ireland last night, about 12,000 customers were still without electricity out of 34,000 who lost their power supply during the day when Kathleen struck, while P&O Ferries cancelled sailings between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland. Parts of Scotland experienced particularly high winds, with gusts of 98mph recorded in the Highlands.
The Environment Agency issued 14 flood warnings – where flooding is “expected” – and 113 flood alerts in England on Saturday, with National Resources Wales issuing a further six flood alerts. The Met Office warned of injuries and danger to life from “large waves and beach material being thrown on to seafronts, coastal roads and properties”.
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “This intense period of stormy weather is going to prove extremely challenging for anyone driving on the western side of the UK.
“We strongly urge drivers to avoid exposed coasts and higher routes where the impact of the very strong winds is most likely to be felt.”
It has led the Lib Dems, SNP and some Labour and Conservative MPs to urge the UK to reassess how it supports Israel.
The Foreign Office said on Thursday it kept advice on Israel's adherence to the law under review, adding that this was confidential.
Writing in his Daily Mail column, Mr Johnson said it would be "insane" for the UK to end military support, which he said would be "willing the military defeat of Israel and the victory of Hamas".
Mr Johnson, a former foreign secretary, wrote: "Remember that in order to win this conflict, Hamas only has to survive. All they need at the end is to hang on, rebuild, and go again.
"That's victory for Hamas; and that is what these legal experts seem to be asking for."
More than 600 lawyers, including former Supreme Court justices, this week wrote to the government saying weapon exports to Israel must end because the UK risks breaking international law over a "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza. Israel rejects the claim of genocide as "wholly unfounded".
Mr Johnson said it was "shattering" to see the deaths, but Israel was sending warnings of their attacks and "trying to use precision munitions".
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron previously said the UK would carefully review findings of the initial Israel Defense Forces (IDF) report into the incident, which was released on Friday.
Much of the Gaza Strip has been devastated during the IDF military operations which began after Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.
More than 33,091 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
On Thursday a UK Foreign Office spokesman said: "We keep advice on Israel's adherence to international humanitarian law under review and ministers act in accordance with that advice, for example when considering export licences.
"The content of the government's advice is confidential."
British arms sales to Israel are lower than those of other countries, including Germany and Italy, and dwarfed by the billions supplied by its largest arms supplier, the US.
