Morgan McSweeney quits as PM's chief of staffpublished at 14:20 14:20Breaking

We've just learnt that Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney has resigned.

"After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government. The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself," he says in a statement.

This story is developing. We'll bring you more in just a moment.

Listen to Donald Trump and you would think Moscow and Beijing were lying in wait off the coast of Greenland, ready to pounce to boost their power in the Arctic.

"There are Russian destroyers, there are Chinese destroyers and, bigger, there are Russian submarines all over the place," President Trump said recently.

That is why, according to America's president, US control of Greenland is essential.

So how do you think Moscow has reacted to its alleged plot being uncovered and potentially thwarted by a US takeover of Greenland?

The Russians can't be pleased. Right?

Wrong.

In an astonishing article, the Russian government paper is full of praise for Trump and critical of European leaders who oppose a US annexation of Greenland.

"Standing in the way of the US president's historic breakthrough is the stubbornness of Copenhagen and the mock solidarity of intransigent European countries, including so-called friends of America, Britain and France," writes Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"Europe does not need the American greatness that Trump is promoting. Brussels is counting on 'drowning' the US president in the midterm congressional elections, on preventing him from concluding the greatest deal of his life."

"Greatest deal"? The reporter explains what he means. I have to keep reminding myself I am reading the Russian government newspaper, not a pro-Trump publication in America.

"If Trump annexes Greenland by July 4 2026, when America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he will go down in history as a figure who asserted the greatness of the United States," writes Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"With Greenland, the US becomes the second largest country in the world after Russia, surpassing Canada in area. For Americans, that's on par with such planetary events as the abolition of slavery by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 or the territorial conquests of the Napoleonic Wars.

"If, thanks to Trump, Greenland becomes part of America…for sure the American people will not forget such an achievement."

And the Russian reporter has this message for America's president: don't U-turn.

"It is dangerous for the American president to back down over Greenland. This would weaken the position of the Republican Party in the midterm elections and likely result in a Democrat majority on Capitol Hill with the ensuing consequences for Trump. Whereas a rapid annexation of Greenland before the elections can change this political trend

Christmas is often regarded as a time for goodwill, but one young UK couple's act of kindness 50 years ago changed their lives forever.

On 23 December 1975, Rob Parsons and his wife Dianne were preparing for Christmas at their Cardiff home when they heard a knock at the door.

On their doorstep stood a man with a bin bag containing his possessions in his right hand and a frozen chicken in his left.

Rob studied the man's face and vaguely remembered him as Ronnie Lockwood, someone he would occasionally see at Sunday School as a boy and who he was told to be kind to as he was a "bit different".

"I said 'Ronnie, what's with the chicken?' He said 'somebody gave it to me for Christmas'. And then I said two words that changed all of our lives.

"And I'm not exactly sure why I said them. I said come in."

US authorities have discovered more than a million more documents potentially related to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that they plan to release in the coming days and weeks, officials say.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI have informed the Department of Justice (DoJ) about the discovery and turned over the documents for lawyers to review.

"We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible," the DoJ said on social media on Wednesday.

The department said that given the volume of material, the process could take "a few more weeks".

The agency said it would "continue to fully comply with federal law and President Trump's direction to release the files".

The statement did not specify how the FBI and New York prosecutors came across the additional material.