Portrait of the week: The US withdraws its bombers, Kemi promises a ‘Britannia shield’ and Christa Pike survives her execution

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Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, said there were ‘strong indications’ that Iran played a part in the events at RAF Fairford. The United States withdrew all its bombers from Fairford, which President Donald Trump of America said had been because of ‘some threats’. A dual Iranian-British man aged 27 and a 22-year-old British national were arrested in Westminster on suspicion of the preparation of terrorist acts in connection with Fairford. Two Iranian nationals appeared in court charged with plotting ​acts of terrorism involving the use of a homemade bomb to attack the Jewish community in Manchester at the behest of a figure believed to be based in Iran; the court was told both men had come to Britain from Europe ​in boats. In the seven days to 5 October, 1,343 migrants crossed the Channel in boats. The government announced that the ‘one in, one out’ agreement with France to send back some migrants who cross the Channel had been scrapped. Three people were arrested in London after a raid on a gang accused of helping Bangladeshis pretend to be practising homosexuals to get asylum.

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservatives, told their conference that the party if elected would ensure no one would have to pay inheritance tax on their family home. She promised to build a £10 billion ‘Britannia shield’ in a decade to protect against air attack. Mr Burnham said that the owners of Manchester City had been ‘a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester’, but later said that ‘there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules’. He said it was ‘possible’ a future Labour election manifesto could promise a new in-out referendum on the European Union. He abandoned his predecessor’s plans for judge-only courts, although complex fraud trials would still be heard without juries. The Green party conference adopted as party policy the notion that Zionism should be ‘treated as any other form of racism’ and that Israel should be replaced by a single Palestinian state.

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor began legal action against Thames Valley Police over the circumstances of his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office; it had been ‘made clear’ to him that the financial provision he receives from the King should not be used to fund the High Court claim. Joshua Kerry, 28, the man accused of murdering Ann Widdecombe, was also charged with preparing acts of terror against the Reform leader Nigel Farage and others. Sir William Heseltine, Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary, 1986-90, died aged 96. Jeffrey Archer, Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, the novelist and former MP jailed for two years for perjury, died aged 86. Dame Esther Rantzen died aged 86.

Abroad

The G7 announced 100 million barrels of oil and diesel would be released to ease supply; Mr Trump had threatened to ban diesel exports from the United States if European countries did not agree to put more of their own stocks on to the market. A pilot of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Captain Smit Machchhar, was attacked by his fellow pilot with the crash axe kept in the cockpit, but managed to open the door, allowing some passengers and crew to overpower the attacker. The plane, with 174 on board, was landed at a Saudi Arabian airport by pilots among the passengers. Christa Pike, sentenced to death in 1996 for murder, survived two attempts in Tennessee to execute her by lethal injection. Eva Marie Saint, who won an Oscar in On The Waterfront, died aged 102.

Russian drones attacked a grain ship in the Black Sea off Romania. A civilian cargo ship was sunk and its crew was missing off Bulgaria and a second grain ship was hit. Russian drones hit the Northern Bridge and Southern Bridge in Kyiv several times.