Robert Rhodes killed his estranged wife, Dawn Rhodes, by slitting her throat with a knife at their family home in Redhill, Surrey, in June 2016. The couple's marriage had broken down and he had filed for a divorce. He was previously found not guilty after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2017, where he convinced jurors that he had acted in self-defence during an argument. It has since emerged that this was a "cover-up", after the couple's child came forward with new evidence that Rhodes killed Ms Rhodes, and they were involved in the murder too. In 2021, the child, who was under the age of 10 at the time of the murder, told police they had been manipulated into lying about the true version of events by their father. Both Rhodes and the child were found with knife wounds at the scene, which were initially claimed to have been inflicted in an attack by Ms Rhodes. The child's new account stated that after Rhodes killed his wife, he inflicted two wounds to his scalp before instructing the child to inflict two more on their father's back. He then cut his own child's arm so deeply that it required stitches under general anaesthetic. Under the double jeopardy rule a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime, unless new and compelling evidence comes out after an acquittal or conviction for serious offences. On Friday, jurors at Inner London Crown Court convicted Rhodes of murder and child cruelty. He was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice and two counts of perjury. Rhodes will be sentenced on 16 January. Surrey Police told Sky News that the child, who was of primary school age at the time and is below the age of criminal responsibility, was "groomed" by Rhodes into lying. The child told police that during supervised contact with Rhodes in 2016 and 2017 - while he was on bail after being charged with murder - he had told them that they had "got some things wrong" and continued to give them instructions to stick to the plan. Rhodes even hid a phone at his mother's house for when the child visited, on which he would leave messages for the child. Detective Chief Inspector Kimball Edey said: "During the first trial, Dawn was portrayed as the villain but had actually been a victim of domestic abuse and coercive control at the hands of her husband for years. "The fact that Rhodes not only murdered his wife in cold blood but then manipulated and groomed his own child to play a part in his evil scheme and cover-up what he had done is simply despicable - not only did he take a life; he irreparably damaged another, as well as the lives of everyone else who loved Dawn." The Crown Prosecution Service said "the child's part in the plan was that they would distract the mother by saying to the mother 'hold out your hands, I've got a surprise for you', and the child would then put a drawing into the hands of the mother". Rhodes then cut his wife's throat. She was found lying face down in a pool of blood in the dining room. Libby Clark, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service's south east area complex casework unit, said the child showed "great bravery and strength" in coming forward with the truth. She said: "The child has grown up with the dawning realisation, I would say, that they were part of a plan. They were complicit in the murder of the mother, Dawn Rhodes." Ms Rhodes's family paid tribute to the "loving daughter, sister and mother". "She was everything to us and he is nothing, she will be celebrated and he will be forgotten," they said. "There are no words we can use to make sense of this horrific situation. "We struggle to comprehend the mindset of an individual so twisted as to even contemplate this as a solution to his own unhappiness, implicating a child under 10 in the process." Read more from Sky News:Man guilty of savage glass bottle train attackActor and comedian Stanley Baxter diesUK 'rapidly developing' plans to prepare for war Legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg said there are "very few cases" where a retrial like this happens. He said: "It's very unusual. I don't think there's been a case that I can think of where a witness who was present at the scene of the crime has come forward and given evidence, which has led to a conviction."

Trollope was one of the nation's most widely read authors, having published more than 30 novels during a career that began in the 1970s. Her novels include "Aga sagas" The Rector's Wife, Marrying The Mistress and Daughters-in-Law. In a statement, Trollope's daughters Antonia and Louise said: "Our beloved and inspirational mother Joanna Trollope has died peacefully at her Oxfordshire home, on December 11, aged 82." Her literary agent James Gill said: "It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists. "Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and - of course - her readers." Trollope was born in Gloucestershire in 1943. She won a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in the 1960s. After graduating, she joined the Foreign Office before training as a teacher and then turning to writing full-time in 1980. The author was best known for her novels set in rural middle England and centred around domestic life and relationships. Her early historical romances were written under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey, before she turned to contemporary fiction. Her work tackled a range of topics from affairs, blended families and adoption, to parenting and marital breakdown. Trollope also took part in The Austen Project, which saw six of Jane Austen's novels retold by contemporary writers. She wrote the first book in the series, Sense & Sensibility, published in 2013. Read more from Sky News:Man found guilty of murdering wife in rare retrialUK 'rapidly developing' plans to prepare for war In 1996, Trollope was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature and later made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019. She won the Romantic Novel of the Year in 1980 for the book Parson Harding's Daughter and in 2010 was given a lifetime achievement award from the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) for her services to romance. She went on to chair a number of award ceremonies, including the Costa Book Awards, formerly the Whitbread Prize, as well as the BBC National Short Story Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction.

Labour peer Harriet Harman told Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast she thinks the government may not rejoin the current customs union, but will be part of elements of it. On Tuesday, 13 Labour MPs backed a Liberal Democrat bill calling on the government to begin negotiations on joining a bespoke customs union with the EU. Sir Keir recently said such a move was "not currently our policy", but the vote, which has gone through to a second reading, has prompted suggestions the UK could join a new personalised trading partnership with the EU. Baroness Harman said: "In the run-up to the election, Keir Starmer made it quite clear that, if he was in government, he would not be rejoining the single market or rejoining the customs union." But she said he could get around that by doing something similar to what the chancellor did with income tax at the budget. Rachel Reeves extended the freeze on income tax, allowing her to stick to her manifesto promise not to raise income tax, while pulling more people into paying higher rates of the tax. Read more: David Lammy suggests UK would benefit from rejoining customs union Baroness Harman said: "I think we might get into a little bit of that with the customs union, because we're not rejoining the customs union, but we could have a customs union which is better - i.e. elements of it, which smooth the path of better trading relations." But Ruth Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader, warned that could cause "some political problems for Labour". "This is the sort of thing that completely arms Reform," she said. "And it would take months, into years to get done. "It would just be complete fuel for Reform. "I think, politically, it's too hard to do, even if economically it looks like a lever that could be beneficial to the country."

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said he would hold talks with Salah on Friday to determine whether the forward would feature against Brighton on Saturday, his last chance to play for Liverpool this year before departing for AFCON with Egypt. Salah - who had been benched for three games in a row - was left out of Liverpool's squad for the midweek Champions League game at Inter Milan after his bombshell interview last Saturday threw his future at the club into doubt. Arne Slot to hold talks with Mohamed Salah on FridayWhat Salah said in bombshell interview to throw Liverpool future into doubt Salah aired his frustrations at being left out by Slot following a 3-3 draw at Leeds, where he was an unused substitute. Three years ago, Ronaldo left United for a second time after hitting out at the club's standards and criticising then-boss Erik ten Hag. Neville understands why Liverpool supporters will have been upset by Salah's behaviour, especially amid their poor run of form, but says the star-status of players cannot be overlooked - and Salah has deserved more game time in recent weeks. "I see it from both sides," he told Sky Sports News. "I wouldn't see it from an ordinary player's side. But when you have this level of player that's almost the best in the world, which I'd put Mo Salah up there with, you sometimes… not have to accept what he's done because Cristiano Ronaldo did it [at United] and I didn't take to it too kindly at all because I think those players have an expectancy to bring everybody along with them. "But it is not unusual behaviour for a player of that level of quality and talent. They often have a different outlook on things. "It's easy for me when it's at Liverpool because I can sit back and relax a little bit. I wouldn't like it if it was at my club Manchester United and I didn't a few years ago when Cristiano did it and he went and did the big interview. "I thought it was wrong, I thought the timing was wrong and the way it was delivered was wrong, so I can see why Liverpool fans would be upset. "But I was doing the game [against Leeds], I thought [Salah] should have come on the pitch, I said it on commentary. "I can see why he was upset but I can also see it from Liverpool's perspective - they feel let down and that he's put a lot of attention on them that wasn't needed in a moment of challenge and difficulty." Transfer Centre LIVE! | Liverpool news & transfers��Liverpool fixtures & scores | FREE Liverpool PL highlights▶️Got Sky? Watch Liverpool games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 "If it was a player that didn't have the level of talent, experience or success of Mo Salah I think they'd be kicked out pretty quickly," Neville continued. "But when you're that exceptional and that talented and have the presence of a great player you don't accept being put on the bench and not being put on. "I played with players who were exactly the same and left the club as soon as that was the case." Slot: I have no reason to not want Salah to stay Slot was quizzed on his personal desire about Salah's future at Anfield and the head coach also clarified the decision-making process behind omitting Salah from Tuesday's win in Milan, which was made jointly between himself and the club. He said: "[Who decides] if he's in the squad, yes or no? We've decided as a club, I was part of that decision not to take Mo to Inter Milan. "I'm always in conversation [with the Liverpool board], but when it comes to the decision making of the squad or the line-up that is always left to me. "That's not to say I don't talk to Richard [Hughes]. I talk to Richard about many things. But to play a player is entirely up to me." Asked specifically if he wanted Salah to stay, Slot replied: "I have no reasons not to want him to stay. This club has won a lot of games with him." 'Slot taking heat out of a drama he could have done without' SSN reporter Vinny O'Connor at the AXA training centre: "'I have no reasons not wanting him to stay here,' was as far as Arne Slot would go regarding his current position on the Mo Salah situation. "And there's evidence to back that up in the actions Slot is planning to take. Why else would he be meeting with Salah today after various conversations between the player's representatives, the club and Slot himself. "Surely, if the manager was ready to cast Salah aside, there would be no need for a further conversation. "Where Slot did stop short was by refusing to disclose whether or not he needed an apology from Salah. "If Salah is not considered for selection for the second consecutive game, it could mean that they are giving him extra thinking time. "However, it will raise the question as to exactly what came out of today's meeting and increase speculation that Salah could have played his last game for the club. "The underlying theme of the news conference appeared to be a manager trying to take the heat out of a drama he could have done without. That heat will die down further with Salah off to AFCON once the Brighton game is out of the way. "Salah was at the training ground as normal today and whatever happens this weekend, Liverpool will then be without him until January at the very least. "With Slot saying he doesn't want him to go, what move will Salah make to ensure that doesn't become a permanent arrangement?" Merse: Liverpool owe trophy debt to Salah Paul Merson has defended Mohamed Salah following his claims that Liverpool have "thrown him under the bus", suggesting the club's trophy cabinet would be a lot emptier without the Egyptian. "I'm on Mo Salah's side. I think he's gotten too much stick. "Maybe he shouldn't have done what he did, but he's a human being. He's a winner. He's a legend. The figures he's put up on the wing - goals and assists - is off the charts. We'll never see that again in my opinion. "All he's done is say he wants to play football. He's got the hump because he's not playing. How could you be slaughtered for that? "There are other players in the team that could've been dropped and he's probably thinking 'we're not very good and I'm not playing'. I just think it's wrong. "Liverpool wouldn't have won anything if it wasn't for Mo Salah. You take away his goals and assists and I don't think there's any trophies in that cabinet for a while."

Underlining the role civilians would have to play in a major conflict, Al Carns said armies, navies and air forces respond to crises but "societies, industries and economies win wars". He said: "The shadow of war is knocking on Europe's door once more. That's the reality. We've got to be prepared to deter it." The comments came after Mark Rutte, the head of NATO, told allies on Thursday that Europe must ready itself for a confrontation with Russia on the kind of scale "our grandparents and great-grandparents endured" - a reference to the First and Second World Wars. In an indication of the threat, Britain revealed on Friday that the level of hostile intelligence activity - such as spying, hacking and physical threats - against its armed forces and the Ministry of Defence has jumped by more than 50% over the past year. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are suspected of being the main culprits. The government is launching a new defence counter-intelligence unit to bolster its ability to detect and disrupt intelligence operations by hostile states. It has also moved to enhance the Ministry of Defence's spying capabilities by combining the various military intelligence branches across the army, navy and air force, as well as Defence Intelligence, into a new organisation called the Military Intelligence Services. The "MI" initials are the same as in MI5 and MI6 - the UK's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies. Mr Carns, a former special forces colonel, visited RAF Wyton, a top-secret military spy base in Cambridgeshire, with a second defence minister, Louise Sandher-Jones, as well as a group of journalists to announce the organisational changes. But improving the readiness of the professional armed forces is only part of any country's preparedness for potential conflict. With France warning its people they may need to lose their children fighting a war with Russia, Sky News asked Mr Carns whether he thought more needed to be done to inform the British public about the sacrifices they might be required to make in a war. The minister said: "There's a whole load of work going on now between us [Ministry of Defence], the Cabinet Office, and the whole of society approach, and what conflict means, and what everybody's role in society means if we were to go to war and the build up to war." He continued: "Collectively, everybody - what is their role if we get caught in an existential crisis, and what do they need to be aware they need to do and what they can't do, and how do we mobilise the nation to support a military endeavour? "Not just about deploying the military, but actually about protecting every inch of our own territory. That work is ongoing now, it's rapidly developing. We've got to move as fast as we can to make sure that's shored up." The UK used to have a comprehensive plan for the transition from peace to war. Developed over decades, the Government War Book had instructions for every part of society, from the army and the police to schools, hospitals and even art galleries. Read more from Sky News:Head of MI6: 'Never seen the world in a more dangerous state'Russia ready to hit UK with wave of cyber attacks, minister warns However, this huge body of preparedness - which was expensive to maintain - was quietly shelved following the end of the Cold War. Mr Carns's comments indicate that some kind of modern version of the doctrine could make a comeback. Communicating the changing reality of the security situation to the public is also seen as key. The armed forces minister said many people in the UK do not see, hear or feel the dangers even as Russia's war in Ukraine rages, impacting the cost of fuel. "We've got to bring that home to make sure people understand, not to scare them, but to be realistic and understand where those threats are emanating from, and why defence and a whole society approach is so important," he said. 👉 Click here to listen to The Wargame on your podcast app 👈 Sky News' The Wargame podcast explores what might happen if Russia attacked the UK and how all of society would be affected.

Baxter was bold enough to mimic the Pope and even the Queen and sent up his native city with comic routines based on Glaswegian patois. The Scot received several awards during his career, including a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards and two TV tribute programmes. His friend and biographer Brian Beacom said the TV star died on Thursday in a north London care home for entertainment figures. He had lived in the home, Denville Hall, since late 2023 and was a few months away from celebrating his 100th birthday. Baxter's TV shows, in which he often appeared grotesquely in drag, attracted huge audiences and marked him out as one of the funniest, as well as sometimes one of the most controversial, comics of his generation. Baxter was also popular on the Scottish pantomime circuit, until his retirement in 1991. Although he did emerge occasionally and briefly from retirement, he largely disappeared from show business and from the public eye. Baxter was married for 46 years. His wife, Moira died in 1997. In 2020, he released a co-written biography, The Real Stanley Baxter, which revealed he was gay and had told his wife before they married. Baxter was born on 24 May, 1926 and started his career as a child actor in the Scottish edition of BBC's Children's Hour. During his National Service, he developed his skills in the Combined Services Entertainment Unit. Read more from Sky News: Man found guilty of murdering wife in rare retrialKing to share personal cancer update in video message He then returned to Glasgow, and later to London, where he launched a glittering career in television. He made his debut in the BBC's Shop Window in 1952, followed by several guest appearances in variety shows. But it was on the satirical BBC show On The Bright Side (1959) that he was handed his major TV break. The Stanley Baxter Show (1963-1971) cemented his reputation and propelled him to television stardom. Baxter also starred in various TV spectaculars, including Stanley Baxter's Christmas Box. Among his most successful routines was Parliamo Glasgow, which was conceived as being written by a fictitious scholar visiting the city. The sketch took the Glasgow patois and developed it to comic effect, such as "sanoffy cold day" for "It's an awfully cold day". After his retirement, he appeared in 2004 in a series of three half-hour sitcoms for BBC Radio 4, entitled Stanley Baxter and Friends. He also lent his voice to the animated children's film Arabian Knight and the television series Meeow. Baxter appeared in a number of films, including Very Important Person (1961), in which he played a fiercely nationalistic Scot. Other film appearances included Geordie (1955), The Fast Lady (1962) and And Father Came Too! (1963). Baxter also gained an Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television Award from Bafta Scotland in a digital ceremony in 2020.

Westminster is restless, and the team are digging into why. Beth, Ruth and Harriet discuss the growing unease inside Labour, as somebody new joins the cabinet table. They also go over the damning findings of Baroness Amos's interim report into maternity care in England, featuring deeply personal accounts from women affected by systemic failings, including former Conservative MP Theo Clarke, who now hosts the podcast Breaking The Taboo. If you've been affected by issues discussed in this episode, you can reach out to the Birth Trauma Association or MASIC. This episode also includes discussion of stillbirth. The charity Sands also offers help and advice. You can WhatsApp the podcast at 07934 200 444 or email electoraldysfunction@sky.uk. And if you didn't know, you can also watch Beth, Ruth and Harriet on YouTube. St James's Place sponsors Electoral Dysfunction on Sky News, learn more here.

Slot said earlier in the week he had "no idea" if Salah had played his final game for Liverpool, but appeared to soften that stance ahead of the weekend's game after revealing he and the club had been in talks with Salah and his representatives throughout the week. Transfer Centre LIVE! | Liverpool news & transfers🔴Liverpool fixtures & scores | FREE Liverpool PL highlights▶️Got Sky? Watch Liverpool games LIVE on your phone📱Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺 Salah has not started any of Liverpool's last four games and after he was an unused substitute against Leeds last weekend, claimed in a bombshell interview he had been "thrown under the bus" by the club and said his relationship with Slot had become non-existent. The club subsequently decided to drop him from the travelling squad which won 1-0 at Inter Milan on Tuesday, the same day Salah posted a photograph on Instagram of himself training alone at the training ground gym. When asked on Friday whether Salah had played his final game for the club, Slot said: "I will have a conversation with Mo this morning. The outcome of that conversation determines how it will look tomorrow. "What I need is a conversation with him and the next time I speak about Mo should be with him and not in here. There's not much more to say about it. I will speak to him today and the outcome of that conversation determines how things will look tomorrow. "You can try it in multiple ways, the next time I speak should be with him. We've spoken a lot in the last week, after the Sunderland game, there have been a lot of conversations between his representatives and ours, between him and me. "And today I will speak with him again." Slot: I have no reason to not want Salah to stay Slot was quizzed on his personal desire about Salah's future at Anfield and the head coach also clarified the decision-making process behind omitting Salah from Tuesday's win in Milan, which was made jointly between himself and the club. He said: "[Who decides] if he's in the squad, yes or no? We've decided as a club, I was part of that decision not to take Mo to Inter Milan. "I'm always in conversation [with the Liverpool board], but when it comes to the decision making of the squad or the line-up that is always left to me. "That's not to say I don't talk to Richard [Hughes]. I talk to Richard about many things. But to play a player is entirely up to me." Asked specifically if he wanted Salah to stay, Slot replied: "I have no reasons not to want him to stay. This club has won a lot of games with him." 'Slot taking heat out of a drama he could have done without' SSN reporter Vinny O'Connor at the AXA training centre: "'I have no reasons not wanting him to stay here,' was as far as Arne Slot would go regarding his current position on the Mo Salah situation. "And there's evidence to back that up in the actions Slot is planning to take. Why else would he be meeting with Salah today after various conversations between the player's representatives, the club and Slot himself. "Surely, if the manager was ready to cast Salah aside, there would be no need for a further conversation. "Where Slot did stop short was by refusing to disclose whether or not he needed an apology from Salah. "If Salah is not considered for selection for the second consecutive game, it could mean that they are giving him extra thinking time. "However, it will raise the question as to exactly what came out of today's meeting and increase speculation that Salah could have played his last game for the club. "The underlying theme of the news conference appeared to be a manager trying to take the heat out of a drama he could have done without. That heat will die down further with Salah off to AFCON once the Brighton game is out of the way. "Salah was at the training ground as normal today and whatever happens this weekend, Liverpool will then be without him until January at the very least. "With Slot saying he doesn't want him to go, what move will Salah make to ensure that doesn't become a permanent arrangement?" Merse: Liverpool owe trophy debt to Salah Paul Merson has defended Mohamed Salah following his claims that Liverpool have "thrown him under the bus", suggesting the club's trophy cabinet would be a lot emptier without the Egyptian. "I'm on Mo Salah's side. I think he's gotten too much stick. "Maybe he shouldn't have done what he did, but he's a human being. He's a winner. He's a legend. The figures he's put up on the wing - goals and assists - is off the charts. We'll never see that again in my opinion. "All he's done is say he wants to play football. He's got the hump because he's not playing. How could you be slaughtered for that? "There are other players in the team that could've been dropped and he's probably thinking 'we're not very good and I'm not playing'. I just think it's wrong. "Liverpool wouldn't have won anything if it wasn't for Mo Salah. You take away his goals and assists and I don't think there's any trophies in that cabinet for a while."