Heathrow expansion: As the chancellor grapples with growth, she has another tight budget to consider

Heathrow power fix would’ve taken hours, says expert

Simon Gallagher, founder of UK Network Services, said Heathrow could have had enough power from one live substation during the outage, but it would have taken hours to reconfigure the airport's network. He acknowledged National Grid’s point that there was sufficient capacity but stressed Heathrow's challenge in adjusting to use that power in time. Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Passenger hopes Heathrow learns from airport closure disrupt

Akhil Vyas, a passenger caught up in Friday’s Heathrow Airport closure, recalled the moment he learned his flight to Dubai for a family holiday was cancelled. He said that he hopes that Heathrow will learn from the incident and create a contingency plan to prevent future disruptions. Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Transport Secretary: Heathrow fire an 'unprecedented' crisis

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the Heathrow substation fire an "unprecedented event of very significant magnitude" after it halted flights for 18 hours. She praised firefighters and staff for their response, noting backup generators kept critical systems running but couldn’t power the entire airport. The government and Heathrow have launched investigations into resilience planning and infrastructure lessons. Report by Covellm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Reeves shown first AI-powered strike drone

Rachel Reeves has visited Wellington Barracks in central London after announcing in her Spring Statement that defence spending will increase by 2.5% in GDP. The chancellor and the defence secretary John Healey were shown the first AI-powered strike drone, as they learnt about the work of people on the strategic command's innovation unit. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Reeves: I'm not in favour of national service

The chancellor says house building commitments in her Spring Statement will benefit young people and that she is "not in favour of national service". Speaking to ITV News, Rachel Reeves adds watching a Sabrina Carpenter concert in a box was "the right thing to do" given her security needs. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Reeves: Nation's defences are stronger with spending boost

Rachel Reeves has outlined her plans to "strengthen our nation's defences", by increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP and to build 1.5 million new homes. The chancellor acknowledges that the OBR has downgraded the UK's growth forecast for 2025 from 2% to 1%, but adds, "it has upgraded growth for next year and every year after that". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Badenoch: Reeves' Spring Statement is all smoke and mirrors

Kemi Badenoch has accused Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement as being "all smoke and mirrors", pointing to rising inflation, increased unemployment and low growth. The Conservative Party leader added, "something has to change, this is chaos". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Chancellor’s welfare cuts are a disabled ‘double whammy’

Following Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey says the proposed cuts to welfare are a "double whammy" hitting disabled people who cannot work while cutting support for their carers. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn