Mohammed Abouagela Masud accused by US of having set timer for bomb that destroyed the Boeing 747, killing 270 people in 1988 A former Libyan intelligence operative accused of preparing the bomb that brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 was taken into US custody after being abducted from his home by a notorious warlord and then detained by armed militia for two weeks, the Guardian has been told. Mohammed Abouagela

Treasury officials tell select committee they set out impacts of £45bn plan for former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng disregarded warnings that his £45bn mini-budget could trigger a backlash on the financial markets, Treasury officials told MPs today. The department’s permanent secretary, James Bowler, said he was “absolutely confident Treasury officials set out the right advice” to the then chancellor. Continue reading… ​Treasury officials tell select committee they set out impacts of £45bn plan for former chancellorKwasi

Labour highlights issue to back up pledge to invest heavily in addressing shortages The number of operations cancelled by the NHS in England because of staff shortages may have doubled in three years, with an estimated 30,000 not proceeding because no staff were available to perform them. At least a third of cancelled operations were those that were deemed urgent, according to the analysis by Labour. It suggested at least 2,500 cancelled operations for cancer

Dr Kajal Sharma was only one of 12 senior academics not to be reappointed to her post A university has been found to have discriminated against an Indian lecturer on the grounds of race after it failed to reappoint her for a job she had been doing for five years, replacing her with a white candidate with no experience of the role. Dr Kajal Sharma was one of only two senior lecturers at the University

John Lewis said sales are up sixfold on last year as people look to save on their heating bills Hot water bottles are selling out around the UK amid the cold snap and efforts to save on soaring energy bills. John Lewis said sales were up sixfold on last year with several popular models currently out of stock online including the department store’s own-label version with a fake fur protective cover. Continue reading… ​John Lewis

Exclusive: Government-commissioned paper pinpoints budget squeeze as key reason for service’s loss of capacity A “decade of neglect” by successive Conservative administrations has weakened the NHS to the point that it will not be able to tackle the 7 million-strong backlog of care, a government-commissioned report has concluded. The paper by the King’s Fund health thinktank says years of denying funding to the health service and failing to address its growing workforce crisis has left