The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, chanted "free, free Palestine" as he was arrested, footage shows. The victims, who were attacked as they were leaving an event at a Jewish museum, have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who were about to be engaged. Israel accuses Starmer over killings - read latest updates Sky News has uncovered what is believed to be a statement by the shooting suspect posted at 10pm local time, around an hour after the shooting - suggesting it was scheduled. The letter, signed with Rodriguez's name, was dated 20 May 2025. In the lengthy essay, Rodriguez criticises Israel's actions in Gaza and attacks the US government's position. "The atrocities committed by the Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification," it says. "Instead of reading descriptions mostly we watch them unfold on video, sometimes live. After a few months of rapidly mounting death tolls Israel had obliterated the capacity to even continue counting the dead." The statement adds: "Public opinion has shifted against the genocidal apartheid state, and the American government has simply shrugged, they'll do without public opinion then, criminalize it where they can, suffocate it with bland reassurances that they're doing all they can to restrain Israel where it cannot criminalize protest outright." Rodriguez concludes the statement: "I love you Mom, Dad, baby sis, the rest of my familia, including you, O***** . Free Palestine." Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described a UN report accusing Israel of carrying out "genocidal acts" against the Palestinians as biased and antisemitic. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence secretary Yoav Gallant - as well as a senior Hamas commander - for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza. Mr Netanyahu has decried what he said were the "false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body". Analysis: Trump team will worry about Washington attacker being glorified The attack The couple were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and began shooting, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference. She said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting. "After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security," Ms Smith said. "Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offence." When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, "Free, free Palestine," Police Chief Smith said. Suspect believed to have been member of revolutionary socialist group Rodriguez is believed to have been a member of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, which describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party. An article in the group's Liberation paper about a protest outside the home of Chicago's then mayor Rahm Emanuel in October 2017 features a picture of Rodriguez at the demonstration as well as quotes from him. The protest was not linked to Israel or Gaza. The article was taken down from the paper's website on Thursday. Since 2024, Rodriguez has worked as an administrative specialist for the American Osteopathic Association, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that he was an oral history researcher at The HistoryMakers, an online archive developed by Carnegie Mellon University to tell the stories of African Americans. A profile for Rodriguez on the website says he was born and raised in Chicago and has a BA degree in English from the University of Illinois Chicago. "He enjoys reading and writing fiction, live music, film, and exploring new places," the profile says. Rodriguez is also believed to have donated $500 to Joe Biden's presidential campaign in March 2020, when he was running in the Democratic Party presidential primaries. Israel began its war against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group stormed across the border on 7 October 2023 and killed 1,200 people, taking 250 hostages. Since then Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 53,000 people, mostly children, according to the enclave's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has displaced 90% of Gaza's population of roughly two million people and left much of the territory in ruins. Reporting by Samuel Osborne, news reporter, and Sam Doak, OSINT producer

Jonathan Reynolds, talking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, also said the public would have to "wait for the actual budget" to make an announcement on it. Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he would ease the cut to the winter fuel payment, which has been removed from more than 10 million pensioners this winter after it became means-tested. He and his ministers had insisted they would stick to their guns on the policy, even just hours before Sir Keir revealed his change of heart at Prime Minister's Questions. But Mr Reynolds revealed there is more at play to be able to change the policy. "The economy has got to be strong enough to give you the capacity to make the kind of decisions people want us to see," he said. "We want people to know we're listening. "All the prime minister has said is 'look, he's listening, he's aware of it. "He wants a strong economy to be able to deliver for people. "You'd have to wait for the actual budget to do that." Read more:Gordon Brown suggests people on top income tax rate should be excluded from winter fuel Chancellor Rachel Reeves has committed to just one major fiscal event a year, meaning just one annual budget in the autumn. Autumn budgets normally take place in October, with the last one at the end of the month. If this year's budget is around the same date it will leave little time for the extra winter fuel payments to be made as they are paid between November and December. You can listen to the full interview on tomorrow's Electoral Dysfunction podcast

The salary increases, announced by ministers on Thursday afternoon, are 2.8% above what the government had originally budgeted for. The 4% rise is just above the current rate of inflation, which increased from 2.6% in March to 3.5% in April. It will apply to all doctors and teachers in England and Wales. But both the British Medical Association (BMA) and National Education Union (NEU) have threatened further strike action following the announcement, claiming the increases do not account for historical pay freezes. Other NHS workers in England, including nurses, midwives, and physiotherapists, will get a 3.6% pay increase effective from 1 April, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said. He added that junior doctors would be offered an average increase of 5.4% as a result of a further £750 top-up. Read more from Sky NewsChemical castrations proposed for sex offendersWhat is chemical castration?Data reveals net migration has halved to the UK Senior civil servants will get a 3.25% pay increase, the Cabinet Office added, but there are still changes to be made to higher salary bands within the civil service. Prison officers and managers will get the same 4% pay rise as doctors and teachers, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said. Military personnel are being offered a 4.5% rise following their own independent pay review. Senior military officers will get a slightly lower boost of 3.75%, with Defence Secretary John Healey saying the changes "recognise their dedication to keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad". Unions say offers are 'woefully inadequate' The government's proposals on pay have been met with anger among healthcare unions, with the BMA describing its offer for doctors as "woefully inadequate". Professor Philip Banfield, chairman of the BMA council, said doctors are already considering striking again. "Doctors' pay is still around a quarter less than it was in real terms 16 years ago and today's 'award' delays pay restoration even more, without a government plan or reassurance to correct this erosion of what a doctor is worth," he said. Other NHS workers who belong to either the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) or GMB unions are being asked to vote on whether they will accept their offers or not. RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger warned pay increases have already been "entirely swallowed up by inflation and do nothing to change the status quo - where nursing is not valued, too few enter it and too many quit". Schools will have to fund 1% themselves While education unions have been less resistant, the NEU, which is the largest teacher union, threatened to "register a dispute" with the government if it does not fund all of the pay rises itself - as they are currently being offered as part of existing school budgets, which they insist are needed for pressing matters outside staffing. Schools will be given an additional £615m towards the pay increases this financial year, but they will be expected to find the final 1% of the 4% rise themselves - "through improved productivity and smarter spending". Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "I believe schools have a responsibility, like the rest of the public sector, to ensure that their funding is spent as efficiently as possible." General secretary of the TUC Paul Nowak said further negotiations with the government would be needed to resolve outstanding issues. He said his and other unions want to "work with the government to address the recruitment and retention crisis gripping our public services". "Ministers need to talk directly to unions to address the root causes behind dedicated and experienced public servants quitting their professions," he warned. "We need a clear, jointly-agreed long-term strategy to improve public-sector pay, alongside other crucial issues such as better working hours, more manageable workloads and enhanced flexible working options."

The CIA confirmed that its security guards "engaged a person" outside the main gates of the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Security personnel opened fire on the woman's vehicle as she drove toward the gates, ignoring orders to stop, just after 4am local time (9am UK time). A CIA spokesperson declined to say whether the woman was hit, but a person with knowledge of the matter told Sky News' US partner network NBC that the woman was shot. Fairfax County Police described the shooting on Thursday as "non-fatal". A source told Reuters that the woman was in stable condition after the shooting, adding that public records revealed she previously drove under the influence. Her vehicle never entered the CIA compound, and no security guards were hurt, the source added. Read more from Sky News:'Multiple people dead' after plane crash in San DiegoMan who 'shot two people' accused Israel of 'atrocities' The CIA spokesperson said the suspect had been taken into custody, but declined to say whether authorities have identified a motive for the incident. The agency closed the main gate to its headquarters in McLean, Virginia, about 10 miles from downtown Washington, D.C., and directed employees to other gates.

British Transport Police (BTP) said officers were called to the site north of Leominster at 10.40am on Thursday. A man has been airlifted to hospital and a woman has also been taken to hospital. A further 15 people, who were passengers on the train, were assessed by paramedics but discharged at the scene, West Midlands Ambulance Service said. A spokesperson confirmed that nobody from the tractor-trailer required assessment. Police have confirmed that a 32-year-old man from Bromyard has been arrested on suspicion of endangering safety on the railway. Firefighters and officers from West Mercia Police also attended the scene. A spokesperson for Transport for Wales (TfW) confirmed its 8.30am service between Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central hit an "obstruction" at a crossing between Ludlow and Leominster. All lines between the Hereford and Craven Arms stations are blocked and trains will not run between the two. Replacement road transport is being put in place and TfW tickets are currently being accepted by Northern, Avanti, GWR and CrossCountry, it said. Disruption is expected to last until the end of the day and a spokesperson for the company advised anyone travelling on Thursday to check before they travel. A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was "called to an incident on the railway track at Nordan Farm, Leominster, at 10.46am". "On arrival crews found a man who was a passenger on the train, they treated him for non-life threatening injuries before conveying him by air ambulance to Hereford County Hospital," they added. "A woman was also treated for injuries not believed to be serious and conveyed by land ambulance to Hereford County Hospital." The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said it had sent a team of inspectors to Leominster "between a passenger train and an agricultural trailer at a user worked level crossing", which require people to operate the crossing themselves. "Our inspectors will gather evidence as part of the process of conducting a preliminary examination and a decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days," the spokesperson added. British Transport Police said its enquiries were ongoing into the full circumstances of the incident.

In one section, two young boys stare into the distance through listless eyes. They are very poorly, the staff tell us, but now they are here, they will survive. Medical staff check on their patients in the relatively cool interior of the wards, while outside the sun beats down on the grounds of the rough and ready interconnected buildings of the Fontaine Hospital in Port-au-Prince. The hospital is built amid the slums in an area of Haiti's capital known as Cite Soleil - or Sun City. This suburb is widely regarded to be the birthplace of the gangs of Port-au-Prince, and this section of the city has been violent and dangerous for decades. Civil society doesn't function here. Indeed, the Fontaine Hospital is the only medical facility still operating in the gang-controlled areas of Cite Soleil. Without it, the people who live here would have no access to doctors or medical care. How did gangs take over Haiti? Watch Q&A with Stuart Ramsay I'm standing in the cholera ward with Jose Ulysse, the hospital's founder. He opened the hospital 32 years ago. It's a charity, run purely on donations. Mr Ulysse explained that the increasing gang violence across the whole of Port-au-Prince, and the chaos it is causing, means people are herded into displacement camps, which in turn means that cholera outbreaks are getting worse. "Cholera is always present, but there's a time when it's more," he told me. "Lately because of all the displacement camps there is a great deal of promiscuity and rape, and we have an increase in cases." As we spoke, I asked him about the two young boys, and a small group of women on drips in the ward. "Now they are here, they will be okay, but if they weren't here and this hospital wasn't here, they would be dead by now," he replied when I asked him about their condition. We left the cholera ward, cleaning our hands and shoes with disinfectant, before moving on to the next part of the hospital under pressure - the malnutrition ward. "Malnutrition and cholera go hand-in-hand," Mr Ulysse explained as we walked. In the clinic, we meet parents and their little ones - all the infants are malnourished. The mothers - and important to note - one father, are given food to feed their babies. Read more of Stuart Ramsey's reporting in Haiti:Children going to school in Haiti dodge gunfireListen: Reporting from Haiti's urban war zoneSoldiers face 'raining bullets' from Haiti's gangs Those who are in the worst condition are also fed by a drip. One of the giveaway signs of malnutrition is a distended tummy, and most of these babies have that. Poverty and insecurity combine to cause this, Mr Ulysse tells me. And like cholera, malnutrition is getting worse. He explained that when the violence increases, parents can't go to work because it is too dangerous, so they end up not being able to make a living, which means that they can't feed their children properly. The medics and hospital workers risk their lives every day, crossing gang lines and territories to get to the hospital and care for their patients. The reason why this hospital is so popular is because staff show up, even when the fighting is at its worst. Despite their meagre resources, the Fontaine Hospital's intensive care unit for premature babies is busy - it is widely regarded as one of the best facilities of its kind in the country. A team of nurses, masked and in scrubs, tenderly care for these tiny children, some of whom are only hours old. They are some of the most incredibly vulnerable. 👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 I asked Mr Ulysse what would happen if his hospital wasn't there. "Just imagine, there isn't a place where they can go, everyone comes here, normally the poorest people in the country", he told me. But he stressed that the only way the hospital can keep going is through donations, and the cuts to the US government's USAID programme has had a direct impact on the hospital's donors. Attacks on hospitals and staff working in the toughest areas across Port-au-Prince have become common. We filmed outside one of the two Médecins Sans Frontières facilities in the centre of the capital, where work has been suspended because their staff were threatened or attacked. Medical personnel from the health ministry in Port-au-Prince tell us over 70 per cent of all medical facilities in Port-au-Prince have been shut. Only one major public hospital, the Le Paix Hospital, is open. The Le Paix Hospital's executive director, Dr Paul Junior Fontilus, says he is perplexed by the gang's targeting of medical facilities. "It makes no sense, it's crazy, we don't know what it is they want," he said as we walked through the hospital. The hospital is orderly and functioning well, considering the pressure it is under. They are dealing with more and more cases of cholera, an increase in gunshot wounds and sexual violence. "We are overrun with demand, and this surpasses our capacity to respond," he explained to me. "But we are obliged to meet the challenge and offer services to the population." Gang violence is crushing the life out of Port-au-Prince, affecting all of society. And, as is often the case, the most vulnerable in society suffer the most. Stuart Ramsay reports from Haiti with camera operator Toby Nash, senior foreign producer Dominique Van Heerden, and producers Brunelie Joseph and David Montgomery.

Assistant fire department chief Dan Eddy told reporters that authorities will be investigating whether the aircraft hit a power line. The city's police and fire officials said the plane could hold eight to 10 people, but are yet to confirm how many were on board. Mr Eddy said no one on the ground was injured in Thursday's incident, which happened around 3.45am local time (11.45am UK time) near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. The fire chief added: "When it hit the street, as the jet fuel went down it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street. "You can see that every single car was burning down both sides of the street." The California crash occurred in the US military's largest housing neighbourhood. The plane appeared to strike at least one home, with around 10 houses and multiple vehicles damaged in the incident. No one required hospital treatment, but homes and buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated as emergency crews responded. "I can't quite put words to describe what the scene looks like, but with the jet fuel going down the street, and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see," San Diego police chief Scott Wahl said. The police chief said more than 50 officers were on the scene within minutes of the alarm being raised. At least 100 residents were evacuated to nearby Miller Elementary School. Describing the scene "like something from a movie", Mr Eddy earlier told reporters it was foggy at the time of the crash. He said: "You could barely see in front of you." Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were woken by a loud bang and saw smoke when they peered out the window. As they fled the neighbourhood with their two young children, they spotted a car engulfed in flames. Mr Moore said: "It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you've just got to drop your head and get to safety." Police rescued three husky puppies from one of the homes, while evacuated families were spotted standing in their pyjamas in a car park a few streets away. Many military service members live in the neighbourhood. It is also heavily populated by small civilian and military aircraft. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and Gillespie Field are nearby. San Diego Police Department (SDPD) earlier confirmed emergency crews were responding to the crash in the neighbourhood of Tierrasanta. Posting on X, a SDPS spokesperson warned people to avoid the area and urged all those who smell jet fuel or find debris to alert the authorities. Evacuations took place in Salmon Street, Sample Street and Sculpin Street. Santo Road southbound was also closed at Aero Drive. The authorities are yet to release details about the plane, but said it was a flight coming in from the Midwest. A flight tracking site listed it as a Cessna Citation II jet that was scheduled to arrive at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego from Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas. Officials at the airport said it just made a fuelling stop in Wichita. The flight originated on Wednesday night in Teterboro, New Jersey, according to FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said: "The number of people on board is unknown at this time. "The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NSTB will lead the investigation and provide any updates."

And now, whether bad things flow from his obtuse but significant comments in the Commons chamber yesterday will depend, among other things, on the vagaries of the global economy and the riptides of the trade union movement. Here is why: At the point of the autumn budget last year - when Rachel Reeves spent more than signalled in the election campaign, funded by borrowing more than the markets expected and raising taxes that weren't foreshadowed in the manifesto - those whose livelihood depends on forecasting the response of the debt markets had one question. Politics latest: Starmer's Chagos Island deal gets last-minute green light They wanted to know: is that it? Is that the extent of the big spending splurges that the chancellor would perform? Because, although there was a big unsignaled boost to spending, borrowing and taxing last November, the markets' judgement was - more or less - that was fine provided she was able to hold the line at broadly this level of spending and borrowing and no more. Clad in her cast iron armour, Ms Reeves insisted that was it. A "once a parliament" budget, she said, meaning no more substantial tax hikes. An upfront public spending boost, but then Tory levels of restraint in rises in the second half of the parliament. She would hold the line, she promised. But the question still lingered: what would happen in a less benign political climate? The manifesto contained tough decisions, like the two-child spending cap which Labour MPs were required to endorse to stand and keep the whip. Initially, actions like the suspension of the whip from the likes of John McDonnell for rebelling on spending signalled they were prepared to face down spending demands. Yesterday's botched partial U-turn has blown that narrative sky high. No 10 and No 11 have crossed a rubicon. They have provided a precedent whereby they whip out the cheque book in the face of political pressure, even though we are years from a general election. Not only did No 10 fold, but they evidently did so without any semblance of a plan of what they would actually do with winter fuel allowance or how much they would spend on mitigation, or how that would be funded. Perhaps they had no plan because they too waited for the Institute for Fiscal Studies press release laying out the options. That's how we work out what will probably happen - maybe that's their trick too. Read more:Ex-PM suggests people on top rate of income tax should be excluded from winter fuel allowanceNet migration halves in UK Now look at this morning's Guardian. The excellent Pippa Crerar, the political editor wronged by a Number 10 denial of her winter fuel climbdown story last week, reports more welfare climbdowns on the card, including potentially a change or removal of the two-child cap. Others have said the same to me. I make no moral judgment about the two-child cap, that's not my job. Many Labour MPs find it abhorrent. But it performed a vital function in the manifesto: it was a signal to the markets that Labour can take and stick to the difficult fiscal decisions that the current state of the public finances demands. The two-child cap was Ms Reeves's pre-nuptial agreement with the buyers of UK government debt. She breaks that as a result of political pressure at her peril. She may claim better economic news in recent days gives her wiggle room - today's borrowing figures and the sheer level of global uncertainty (what would Israel bombing Iran do to petrol prices, for instance) suggest caution might be a worthwhile path. Just this morning, Bloomberg is warning long-term bond yields are going up all over the world, including the UK. The question now is where does the spine crumbling end? Who knows now how much this government will recoil when there's the next rebellion. Or when the unions up the pressure, as they surely will at some point before the next election. Take just one example. Today, public sector pay awards have been flopping into our inboxes. GMB Union has begun balloting NHS and ambulance workers in England on this year's 3.6% pay award. How much will ministers be prepared to pay in the next 18 months to stop strikes breaking out? We just don't know. And more importantly, we don't get a sense Ms Reeves does either. After yesterday, levels of certainty about the course of government decision-making took a hit. Will they end up being punished by the markets for this? Some believe they could. It seems we must return to watching the cost of government debt for the rest of this parliament.

Jade Damarell died after crashing onto farmland in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, on 27 April. At a brief inquest opening hearing on Thursday, coroner's officer Alexis Blighe told the court Ms Damarell was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong, and lived in Caerphilly, South Wales. Ms Blighe said she understood the 32-year-old was "involved in a parachute incident on 27 April". A post-mortem examination found that she had died as a result of "blunt trauma". The court heard the body was identified by Bryn Chaffe, the chief instructor at the skydiving firm Ms Damarell used. Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield asked Ms Blighe: "There's no reason to suspect equipment failure?" Ms Blighe replied: "No reason at all." The inquest was adjourned until 21 August. Read more from Sky News:Fresh appeal over 1973 murder of 18-year-oldJudge temporarily blocks Chagos Islands deal After her death, her family had told reporters: "Skydiving and its fantastic community meant so much to Jade and we're incredibly comforted by how admired, respected and deeply loved she was. "We miss her beyond words but Jade's love, brilliance, courage and light will live on in our family and among all those who knew and loved her." Following Ms Damarell's death, Sky-High Skydiving, which is based at Shotton airfield, said: "It is with great sadness that we confirm a tragic incident took place involving a valued member of our community."

It means Britain will give up sovereignty of the Indian Ocean territory and lease back the vital UK-US Diego Garcia military base - at a cost of £101m a year. Politics Live: Starmer signs deal to hand over UK control of Chagos Islands to Mauritius In a news conference, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the base is of the "utmost significance to Britain", having been used to deploy aircraft to "defeat terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan", and "anticipate threats in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific". He said the base was under threat because of Mauritius's legal claim on the Chagos Islands, which has been recognised by multiple international courts. "If we did not agree this deal, the legal situation would mean that we would not be able to prevent China or any other nation setting up their own bases on the outer islands, or carrying out joint exercises near our base," Sir Keir said. "We would have to explain to you, the British people and to our allies, that we'd lost control of this vital asset. "No responsible government could let that happen, so there's no alternative but to act in Britain's national interest by agreeing to this deal. "We will never gamble with national security." The deal means the UK will lease the base from the Mauritian government over 99 years. Although the annual cost is £101m, the net cost overall is £3.4bn, not £10bn, the government said. Sir Keir said that is less than the yearly cost of running an aircraft carrier, and also less than what the US is paying for the running costs of the base. Had he not stuck the deal today, Mauritius would have taken the UK to international courts and probably won - with extra penalties implemented, the prime minister added. Sovereignty row The Chagos Archipelago was separated from Mauritius by the UK in 1965, when Mauritius was a British colony. Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968 and since then has been trying to claim the archipelago as Mauritian. In the late 1960s, the US asked the UK to expel everyone from the archipelago so they could build a naval support facility on the largest island, Diego Garcia. It is leased to the US but operates as a joint UK-US base. The UK has been under pressure to hand back control of the territory, after the UN and the International Court of Justice sided with Mauritius. Despite negotiations beginning under the Tories, senior Conservatives have criticised today's deal. Party leader Kemi Badenoch said that "surrendering" the Chagos Islands to Mauritius "is an act of national self-harm". "It leaves us more exposed to China, and ignores the will of the Chagossian people. And we're paying billions to do so", she said. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage echoed those comments, accusing Sir Keir of caring more about foreign courts "than Britain's national interest". 'Deal inherited from Tories' However Sir Keir said he "inherited a negotiation in which the principle of giving up UK sovereignty had already been conceded" by the Tories. He said "all of the UK's allies" support the deal, including the US, NATO, Five Eyes and India, and that those who are against it include "Russia, China, Iran...and surprisingly, the leader of the opposition, Nigel Farage". Defence Secretary John Healey, who was also at the news conference, added that the last government failed to strike a deal despite 11 rounds of talks, leaving Labour to "pick up the challenge". He said ministers "toughened the terms and the protections and the control that Britain can exercise through this treaty". Under the deal's terms, a 24-nautical mile buffer zone will be put in place around the island where nothing can be built or placed without UK consent. The UK will retain full operational control of Diego Garcia, including the electromagnetic spectrum satellite used for communications which counters hostile interference. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, said he welcomed the "historic agreement", saying it "secures the long-term, stable and effective operation of the joint US-UK military facility at Diego Garcia, which is critical to regional and global security". "We value both parties' dedication. The US looks forward to our continued joint work to ensure the success of our shared operations," he said. The agreement had been due to be signed on Thursday morning but was temporarily blocked by an injunction hours before. A High Court Judge subsequently discharged the injunction at midday.