Mary Soames, the last surviving child of Winston Churchill, has died, it was announced yesterday.

Conservative leader Michael Howard lost two members of his shadow cabinet today, as senior Tories began jockeying for position in the race to succeed him.

BRITISH Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon was last night accused of “bullying” after he reportedly said the Government weapons expert David Kelly was “no martyr” and that he took his life because he feared he would be exposed as a liar.