Good evening. There is concern that the Duke of Sussex's revelations about his time in Afghanistan may increase the threat level towards him. We have the latest as the Taliban responded to Harry's disclosure that he killed 25 fighters while deployed in the country as a helicopter pilot. But, first, the headlines.
Evening briefing: Today's essential headlines
Strikes | Train drivers have been offered an 8pc pay rise to break the rail strike deadlock. Operators this afternoon wrote to drivers’ union Aslef offering their members a 4pc backdated pay rise for 2022 and a 4pc increase for 2023. It would take the average train driver salary from £60,000 to £65,000. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak said the Government's new anti-strike laws are "entirely reasonable" after they prompted a furious backlash from union bosses. In more strike news, Unite ambulance workers will strike on January 23 in their dispute over pay and junior doctors will also walk out for three days in March if their ballot for strikes succeeds.
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- Cancer | Vaccine trials to use same mRNA technology as Covid jab
The big story: Concern over Afghanistan revelation
Harry's disclosure that he killed 25 people during his deployment as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan has led to heightened concern over his safety.
Lord Darroch, former national security adviser, said he would not have advised Harry to go into "the kind of detail" included in the memoir.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: "Personally if I'd been advising the Prince I would have advised against the kind of detail that he goes into there but it's out there now. I believe it was a just war and therefore what he has written about how he justified to himself what he was doing, I understand and appreciate that but in terms of the detail, I personally wouldn't have gone there but it's done now."
In the book, Harry describes how, in “the din and confusion of combat”, he saw the insurgents he killed as “baddies eliminated before they could kill goodies”. He says it is not possible to take someone’s life “if you see them as a person”, but that the Army had “trained me to ‘other’ them and they had trained me well”.
Harry has long been considered an Islamic terrorist target due to his two prior deployments to Afghanistan. Last year, Harry's barrister said he "does not feel safe" when he is in the UK.
Harry also took legal action over a Home Office decision to stop providing full police protection for him while he is in the country following his decision to step back from royal duties in 2020.
Andrew Neil, the chairman of the Spectator magazine, commented on the "nightmare" security implications of the book's disclosure.
Taliban fury
The Taliban, who returned to power in Afghanistan last August, have reacted with fury to the statements. Khalid Zadran, the Taliban’s police spokesman in Kabul, said: "Prince Harry will always be remembered in Helmand - Afghans will never forget the killing of their innocent countrymen."
Harry writes in his book that part of his reason for feeling no guilt about taking lives, is that he never forgot being in the television room at Eton watching news coverage of the 9/11 attacks on New York, and later meeting the families of victims of the attacks on visits to America.
He describes those responsible for the attacks and their sympathisers as “enemies of humanity” and says fighting them was an act of vengeance for one of the worst crimes in human history.
'Red mist' claim
There were also more details today on the alleged physical confrontation between the royal brothers. In a new trailer for ITV's forthcoming interview, Harry said the level of frustration he saw in his brother during the alleged incident was "different".
He tells host Tom Bradby: "What was different here was the level of frustration, and I talk about the red mist that I had for so many years, and I saw this red mist in him." Harry adds: "He wanted me to hit him back, but I chose not to." Here are the 11 key revelations from the bombshell book.
Comment and analysis
- Simon Heffer | Prince Harry has betrayed the King
- Matthew Lynn | Britain must be a nuclear fusion superpower
- Sir Geoffrey Boycott | Scrap the Blast and back the Hundred
- Judith Woods | Kitchen fight shows how sad royal feud has become
- Matthew Lynn | Green extremists are reinventing feudalism
World news: Russia 'breaks own ceasefire'
Russia has appeared to break its own ceasefire after witnesses heard shelling in the city of Bakhmut hours after the pause to fighting was announced. Witnesses heard incoming and outgoing artillery fire in the frontline city in eastern Ukraine, according to reports published just one hour and three quarters after the ceasefire was supposed to come into effect. The ceasefire was intended to last 36-hours to allow people to attend church on Orthodox Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Volodymyr Zelensky warned the Christmas truce was a cover to stop Ukrainian advances and bring in more backup troops and equipment.
Friday interview
George Garton: 'Doctors said I had long Covid – it was a blood clot'
England hopeful nearly quit over misdiagnosed illness before chance meeting at a party led to full recovery
Sport news: Gianluca Vialli dies aged 58
Gianluca Vialli, the former Chelsea manager, has died at the age of 58. Announcing his death, the Italian Football Federation described him as "a great man, a great striker and a highly-regarded manager". Vialli had pancreatic cancer again diagnosed in 2021 after previously being treated for the illness for three years until 2020 and, although he was present for Italy’s 1-0 Nations League win against England, the physical toll of the disease was easily sensed. Jeremy Wilson writes that Vialli was a genuine footballing trailblazer, both as a player and a manager.
Editor's choice
- Travel | America’s greatest road trips — and how to do them
- Music | At 75, Iggy Pop still crackles with a primal lust for life
- Katie Morley | Fitness First employee broke open locker and threw out my things – including my pants
Business news: Bet365 tycoon handed huge payday
The billionaire gambling tycoon Denise Coates was handed one of Britain’s biggest ever paydays again last year despite a fall in profits at her betting empire. Ms Coates was paid £213m of salary and a £45m dividend in the year to March 2022 by her company Bet365, which she set up in a Portakabin in Stoke-on-Trent two decades ago. Her salary was down from £250m the year before, after the business piled money into international expansion instead of taking it as profit. Oliver Gill writes that is the second year that the amount paid to Ms Coates, bet365 chief executive and one of Britain’s richest women, has fallen.
Tonight starts now
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And finally... for this evening's downtime
The hottest new restaurant openings to come in 2023 | Last year was tough for restaurants. Soaring food and energy costs, food shortages and the war in Ukraine all contributed to closures – as did the cost of living crisis, with many of us choosing to spend less money at our favourite restaurants. Yet the hospitality industry is nothing if not resilient and there are already countless openings planned for this year (with many more to follow) – a fact that will bring cheer to food lovers across the country. Here’s our guide to this year’s most exciting openings.
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