Northern Ireland’s leaders have laid wreaths in Belfast and President Higgins has attended a service in Dublin.

The Republican leader in the US senate said a potential deal was “coming together” on the government shutdown but that there was no guarantee it would end an impasse now stretching to 40 days.

When Lord Tony Hall was appointed director-general, Mr Davie returned to BBC Worldwide and oversaw a merger with BBC Studios in 2018. He later became chief executive of the production arm. Mr Davie ...