Friday briefing: An awful byelection night for Sunak – though the Tories avoid a wipeout

In today's newsletter: a pair of major defeats for the Conservatives, but the PM will be relieved to have at least retained Boris Johnson's old seat

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Good morning and welcome to a special First Edition, brought to you this morning - thanks to a great deal of coffee - with the very latest from a dramatic night in British politics. This was a night, of course, that saw three byelections that put Rishi Sunak's government to an important test, with a general election looming within the next 18 months.

And the headline result might suggest that everyone is happy this morning - with each of the three major parties, remarkably, capturing one of the seats on offer.

Politics | Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng received about 400 in severance pay for every day they were in office, according to government accounts. The former prime minister and former chancellor each received more than 16,000 on leaving their jobs after just a few weeks, while Tom Scholar, the department's most senior civil servant, received 457,000 after being sacked by Truss.

Finance | The head of NatWest has apologised to Nigel Farage for what she called deeply inappropriate comments" about the former Ukip leader in an internal report that led to the closure of his accounts at the group's exclusive private bank, Coutts.

UK news | A man who was jailed for stalking Jeremy Vine has apologised in court after being sued by the broadcaster for defamation and harassment.

Environment | Hailstorms have hit northern Italy as near-record temperatures begin to ebb, but forecasters have warned of a fourth heatwave hitting southern Europe next week, with temperatures of up to 48C.

Monarchy | King Charles III is to receive a huge pay rise from the UK taxpayer. Figures published by the Treasury on Thursday show the royal family's grant is due to increase from 86m to 125m by 2025. It comes against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis. The monarchy's annual budget, known as the sovereign grant, is pegged against the profits from a national property portfolio called the crown estate.