UK Edition
The Royal Navy is being deployed to Jersey. French fishermen are today feared to be set to blockade the island's main port as the row over post-Brexit fishing arrangements escalates.
Boris Johnson last night sent two Navy patrol vessels to St Helier following a phone call with the country's chief minister. The first, HMS Tamar - which is equipped with machine guns and is pictured below - will arrive today.
More than 60 French fishing vessels are expected to arrive in the port to protest over restrictions to their access to the waters around the island. They have threatened to bring Jersey to "its knees".
Read the background to the row, which began when the French seas minister said her country was prepared to cut Jersey's electricity supply.
Chief City Commentator Ben Marlow writes that it leaves Britain facing the nuclear option.
Super Thursday: Labour 'faces threat of extinction'
Voters are going to the polls for a set of elections that could shake up British politics. On what has been dubbed Super Thursday, ballots will be cast across Britain in the largest test of political opinion outside of a general election - with the future of Labour one of the key issues. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to ensure it makes gains after damage to the "Red Wall" in the 2019 election. Are more bricks likely to fall? The Hartlepool parliamentary by-election will indicate what progress - if any - Labour has made in regaining votes in its former northern heartlands. Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted it would be a "very tough fight". These are the other key battlegrounds to watch. Allister Heath argues that Labour faces extinction if Mr Johnson can retain his hold of the English centre. Matt raises an election smile with today's cartoon.
The state of the Union is the other key focus. The Scottish Tory leader warned voters that Nicola Sturgeon will break her promise to focus on the pandemic and start planning for independence on "day one" of her new government. Douglas Ross told The Telegraph Scots who believe they can safely back the SNP without endorsing separation should not fall for her "cynical ploy". Opinion polls show a sustained slump in support for independence. View our polls tracker. Alan Cochrane says Unionists need to show unity to stop Ms Sturgeon's referendum rerun.
Can Harry and Meghan really rewrite family stories?
The children's book could not have been better timed - to mark Archie's second birthday today, as Harry and Meghan prepare to welcome a daughter in the coming weeks. Focusing on fatherhood, the Duchess of Sussex's literary debut, The Bench, is set to share the "special bond between father and son". Camilla Tominey examines the Sussexes' own troubled childhoods - and if they are now trying to deal with them.
At a glance: Coronavirus morning briefing
- Holidays | Travel chiefs attack 'illogical' testing rules
- School masks | Parents urge ministers to resist unions
- Vaccines | Moderna's 'tweaked' jab against variants
- Mental health | One in five depressed as levels double
- Flexible | KPMG staff to get one afternoon a week off
Also in the news: Today's other headlines
Troubles | Ministers are to introduce a ban on prosecutions of Northern Ireland veterans in the Queen's Speech next week. The Government is finalising plans to block trials linked to the Troubles and instead move towards an approach that echoes the "truth and reconciliation" model used in post-Apartheid South Africa. It follows the collapse of the trial of two former paratroopers accused of shooting dead an IRA commander.
- Barnier's withering verdict | 'Bulldozer' Boris and 'messianic' Raab
- Pregnancy | New blood test can predict the start of labour
- Social care | PM may bring in tax hike to pay for reforms
- Divided opinions | Line of Duty creator puts case for the defence
- YouTube | Duke and Duchess of Cambridge launch own channel
Around the world: Anti-lockdown leader wins election
Madrid's anti-lockdown leader last night said voters' desire to be free from Covid restrictions had helped propel her to election victory. Isabel Díaz Ayuso won huge gains in a snap poll after battling to keep the capital city's economy open. Read James Badcock's dispatch from Madrid and view a gallery of more striking pictures of the day.
Comment and analysis
- Madeline Grant | Stumbling Starmer prepares to lick wounds
- John Longworth | Britain must be careful trading with India
- Con Coughlin | End this pandering to Sinn Fein and the IRA
- Reader letters | Reality of what soldiers went through in Troubles
- Tanya Gold | A spotter's guide to house guests from hell
Editor's choice: Features and arts
- Ultimate heart-throb | 'No poster boy made our hearts flip like Nick Kamen'
- Legal loopholes and tricks | How the super rich divorce (and get nasty)
- Meditation is not your only option | Will breath work untangle lockdown nerves?
Business and money briefing
Rule change | Millions of Britons retiring abroad could have their state pensions dramatically slashed as a result of Brexit. A change in the way the state pension is calculated will result in lower weekly payouts for those who have lived abroad during their working lives. Personal Finance Reporter Jessica Beard explains how expats will be impacted.
- Electric car batteries | UK explores stockpiling of metals
- Investment tip | Best returns in a decade - and here is why
- Alex | View today's cartoon strip on the world of finance
Sport briefing
Full English | The Champions League final will be an all-English affair after Chelsea defeated Real Madrid 2-0 in last night's semi, thanks to goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount. Read our match report. Chelsea will play Man City in the final, to be held in Istanbul, on May 29. Uefa came under immediate pressure to move the tie to Wembley amid fears that Covid travel restrictions would prevent many fans attending.
- Rory McIlroy | Ban rebels who join 'money-grab' league
- Rugby Union | Lions to name Alun Wyn Jones as captain
- Kraigg Brathwaite | 'Why I swapped Barbados for Bristol'
Tonight's dinner
Chicken with spring vegetables and herb cream | This dish by Diana Henry is light, bright and bursting with seasonal flavours. View the recipe and try our Cookbook newsletter.
And finally... for this morning's downtime
The man behind the myth | Two new books about Napoleon Bonaparte sideline his military achievements to present him as a gardener - and an art thief. Adam Zamoyski examines why the French leader's "theft and vandalism" served the public good.
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