Surprise annual drop to 1.7% in September raises chance of interest rate cuts, increasing budget leeway

• Analysis: Sharp inflation drop gives green light to more aggressive rate cuts
• Business live – latest updates

Inflation in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in three and a half years, giving a pre-budget boost to Rachel Reeves as expectations grow for the Bank of England to cut interest rates.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the consumer prices index dropped sharply to 1.7%, down from 2.2% in August, in a bigger fall than anticipated in financial markets, driven by lower air fares and petrol prices.

• The 51-year-old German will begin work on 1 January
• English coach Anthony Barry will work alongside him

Thomas Tuchel has been confirmed as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor as England’s new manager and will start his role on 1 January after being handed an 18-month deal.

The Football Association’s pursuit of the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich manager was kept a closely guarded secret by all parties involved in negotiations. Tuchel, who has followed Sven-Göran Eriksson and Fabio Capello to become the third foreigner to take charge of the senior men’s team, signed his deal at the start of last week and word of his appointment did not break until after England had faced Finland and Greece in the Nations League.

Sources say Rachel Reeves told cabinet colleagues yesterday the figure was much higher than previously estimated

Robert Jenrick has finished his speech, and he is now taking questions.

Q: Kemi Badenoch says she is Labour’s worst nightmare. Is she right?

I think that our party faces an existential challenge right now. Our party has no divine right to exist. That’s why we need to get the choice right in this leadership election, and that’s why I stand for ending the drama, ending the excuses, and actually delivering for the British people.

Mayor of Nabatiyeh among those killed in Israeli strikes on the municipality of the southern Lebanese city, where Hezbollah hold sway, authorities said

Aid has arrived in northern Gaza for the first time in two weeks, according to an update by Cogat, the Israeli body that oversees the Palestinian territories and coordinates with aid groups.

In a social media post shared on Wednesday morning, Cogat said that 145 humanitarian aid trucks, containing food, hygiene products, baby formula, and shelter equipment, had entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings.

A convoy of 28 trucks entered Gaza directly through Gate 96. The rotation coordination of humanitarian personnel has been successfully completed. 12 bakeries are operational in Gaza, 4 bakeries in northern Gaza, and 8 bakeries southern Gaza.”

Exclusive: Overhaul of system that imposed draconian penalties for innocent errors in benefit claims is expected

Draconian penalties that caused unpaid carers to rack up thousands of pounds of debt after unwittingly falling foul of benefit rules are to be overhauled, the government has announced.

The move comes six months after a Guardian investigation revealed tens of thousands of vulnerable carers were being ordered to repay hefty overpayments – and even threatened with criminal prosecution – over minor breaches of carer’s allowance earnings limits.

Kim Leadbeater, sponsor of bill, says it will include ‘stringent’ criteria and only apply to terminally ill adults

• What is the background to the MPs’ vote on assisted dying?

The lives of disabled and vulnerable people will not be at risk from a proposed assisted dying law because it will only apply to terminally ill adults, and each case is likely to be ruled on by two doctors and a judge, the MP sponsoring it has said.

Kim Leadbeater said her historic “choice at the end of life” bill will include “stringent” criteria and a cooling-off period in what is likely to be one of the most controversial pieces of legislation to go before parliament in years.

Cumbria police say five people killed in car crash involving Skoda and Toyota on motorway

Five people, including two children, have been killed in a car crash on the M6 in Cumbria.

The incident took place on the northbound carriageway not far from Tebay services on Tuesday afternoon, Cumbria constabulary said. Officers were called to the crash, involving a Skoda and a Toyota, at 4.04pm.

More than 200 doctors and experts warn health secretary of ‘enormous pressure’ on already stretched services

More than 200 doctors and medical experts have warned that the unprecedented demand for new obesity drugs is threatening to overwhelm the NHS.

In a joint letter to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, the healthcare professionals call for an urgent review of services for millions of people struggling with weight.

Bring in ‘future homes standard’ or leave families at risk of higher bills and emissions for decades, MPs and experts say

Ministers must take steps now to ensure that all homes are built to the most efficient low-carbon standards, or risk locking households into higher bills and greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come, a group of MPs and experts have urged.

The government is mulling changes to the building regulations in England to bring in a “future homes standard” that would require all new homes to be built with low-carbon equipment such as heat pumps and solar panels.

Murder charge in Los Angeles against teenage son of acclaimed photojournalist, praised for ‘shining a spotlight on siege of Sarajevo’

The British photojournalist Paul Lowe has been fatally stabbed on a hiking trail in California and his teenage son arrested for murder, according to police.

Lowe, who covered conflicts including the siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian war, was found dead on 12 October in the San Gabriel mountains.