Thursday morning UK news briefing: Crackdown on civil service mandarins' second jobs

Britain's most senior mandarin has warned that Whitehall officials with second jobs threaten the "integrity and impartiality" of the civil service as he launched a hunt for new conflicts of interest.

Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, laid bare his "acute concern" in a letter to the heads of all Government departments on Wednesday.

He ordered them to search their ranks for high-level civil servants with external paid roles that may be problematic, setting the end of this week as the deadline.

It came amid a growing row over Greensill Capital, the lender that collapsed last month, and the access its founder enjoyed to the heart of government during David Cameron's administration.

The Telegraph can disclose that the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police was a paid adviser to Greenshill at the same time as working at the heart of Whitehall.

In Parliament, several Tories distanced the party from the actions of its former prime minister during an opposition day debate in which Labour MPs delivered an onslaught of accusations that there had been a return to the "Tory sleaze" of the 1990s.

Madeline Grant sketches how Sir Keir Starmer went full Line of Duty as he interrogated Boris Johnson, drawn to the scent of wrongdoing like a police sniffer dog to a cocaine stash.

Here is a reminder of the background to the Cameron-Greensill lobbying scandal, which Alistair Graham argues is about the integrity of our political system.

Matt has this take on the lobbying for Greenshill.

Science proves PM wrong as vaccines reduce deaths

Boris Johnson raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he suggested that the reduction in Covid infections, hospital admissions and deaths had not been achieved by the vaccination programme, with the lockdown doing "the bulk of the work". Thankfully, less than 24 hours later, science had proved the Prime Minister wrong. New research from NHS England and the University of Manchester showed the stark difference in cases, admissions and deaths for elderly people who had been vaccinated compared to those who had not. Sarah Knapton has analysed the data.

Royals may wear non-military dress for Duke's funeral

Members of the Royal family could resolve to wear non-military dress for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral following intense discussions over who should appear in uniform. The Telegraph understands that there are growing concerns that a debate over whether the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of York should wear military dress could lead to embarrassment for the rest of the Royal family, when they are the only ones who have seen active service. It came as the Royal family released unseen pictures of the Duke of Edinburgh surrounded by his great-grandchildren.

At a glance: Coronavirus morning briefing

• Covid antibodies | Levels fall in over-70s despite vaccine rollout

• Cancer | Covid may have caused tumours to vanish, say doctors

• Tests | Pressure to stop charging travellers 'rip off' fees

• AstraZeneca | Denmark becomes first country to stop using vaccine

• 'Slap in the face' | Oxbridge colleges open to tourists but not students

Also in the news: Today's other headlines

Pet thefts | All 10 million cats in the UK are to be microchipped by law after thefts soared by 12pc in a year, The Telegraph has learned. Police figures show that the number of cats being stolen has risen nearly three-fold in five years as the value of the most expensive breeds surged to £2,000. The measures aim to combat the growing black market.

• Arlene Foster | First Minister 'humiliated by rumour of affair'

• Daunte Wright shooting | Police officer charged with manslaughter

• Fishmongers' Hall | Victim unwittingly helped terrorist catch train

• British Army | Diversity drive may cause struggle to recruit enough

• Census fiasco | Chiefs 'warned of IT system chaos weeks ago'

Around the world: Court battle over Tintin sculptures

A French sculptor faces a counterfeit claim in the latest courtroom battle waged by the controversial British head of the Hergé empire, who for three decades has sued anyone without a licence found using the image of its most famous asset, Tintin. Today, a Marseille court will rule whether Christophe Tixier, alias Peppone, breached copyright rules by producing 90 busts of the plucky reporter. View more world pictures.

Comment and analysis

• Allister Heath | Biden's woke Left-wing agenda is a catastrophe

• Ruth Dudley Edwards | The EU must take the blame for Irish chaos

• Freddie Sayers | On Covid, No10 is treating the public like fools

• Reader letters | The GPs who kept seeing their patients face to face

• Michael Deacon | Could you live with Boris Johnson as your landlord?

Editor's choice: Features and arts

1. University challenge | Who would be a student right now?

2. 'Philip was one of the boys' | The survivors of the Duke of Edinburgh's Guinea Pig Club

3. BBC's 'diversity' drama | Why favouring identity politics over artistic vision insults us all

Business and money briefing

'Fire and rehire' | Hundreds of British Gas engineers were sacked on Wednesday following a bitter row over pay and conditions that has cast a shadow over chief executive Chris O'Shea's first year in office.

• Bread on the line | 1,200 jobs at risk as Asda slashes in-store bakeries

• Investment tip | Our smaller companies trusts have more to come

• Alex | View today's cartoon strip on the world of finance

Sport briefing

Champions League | Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez fired Manchester City into the semi-final of the Champions League to keep the club's "quadruple" hopes burning and set up a clash against Paris Saint-Germain. Yet Liverpool fell short of another famous comeback against Real Madrid. Read our players ratings and Oliver Brown's verdict.

• Red banners | The reason behind Man Utd's poor Old Trafford form

• Rugby union | Baxter accuses Gatland of being 'disingenuous'

• Tennis | Wimbledon in line for new 8,000-seat show court

Tonight's dinner

Beetroot purée with black lentils, potatoes, caraway and pickles | This vibrant dish goes wonderfully with salmon. Read on for the recipe. Try our Cookbook newsletter.

And finally... for this morning's downtime

The West's forgotten first great classical composer | His revolutionary sound defined the Renaissance era. So how did we forget this Copernicus of music? The genius of 'Josquin' has long been neglected but Ivan Hewett reveals that is about to change.

Stay up-to-date with breaking news and the latest politics from The Telegraph throughout the day.