Donald Trump has claimed he has raised more than $4m in the 24 hours after the news of his indictment. 

The former president listed the figure in a press release, in which he repeated his claim that he is the victim of a political witch-hunt.

Lawyers for Trump have told Sky News that he is “ready to fight”, as preparations are made for his unprecedented court appearance next Tuesday.

Alina Habba, an attorney employed by Trump, said: “He’s doing well. He’s resilient and strong and, of course, not happy with the news of the indictment. But ready to fight, I would say.

“We’re seeing selective prosecution. We’re seeing a person who’s been persecuted endlessly.”

“There won’t be a conviction, so I don’t even need to address it. President Trump will absolutely continue his campaign for presidency.”

Trump’s court appearance will take place on the 15th floor of the courthouse in lower Manhattan

He’ll be arraigned before a judge in the same courtroom that saw the conviction of film executive Harvey Weinstein on rape and sexual assault charges in February 2020.

The full details of the indictment remain under seal, but it is understood Trump faces around 30 charges of document-related fraud.

The former president won’t be in handcuffs, following negotiations between his lawyers and the district attorney’s office.

It’s a break with normal procedure – Trump is the first former president ever to face criminal charges and, in these unprecedented circumstances, there is a choreography being pulled together ‘on the hoof’ by sets of lawyers who have no drawings to work from.

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The court appearance is due to take place on Tuesday afternoon. Trump will travel to New York on Monday and fly onto Manhattan by helicopter. He’ll stay at his apartment in the Trump Tower on 5th Avenue, where security has been enhanced in recent days.

There will also be tight security at the courthouse around Trump’s appearance, where he will be escorted by secret service agents, charged with the ongoing protection of a former president.

From Thursday, all 35,000 New York Police Department officers were told to wear their uniform “as a precautionary measure” in the wake of the indictment announcement.

It follows Trump’s call for protest at his arrest, although there has been little to no sign of demonstrations of any great numbers, let alone unrest.

On Tuesday, it is possible the judge could set travel restrictions, or other conditions on Trump, pending a further hearing. In these circumstances, a source close to the secret service says they are “prepared for any option that the judge says”.

Two people were killed and dozens of people injured after a tornado ripped through the Arkansas capital of Little Rock and surrounding US towns on Friday afternoon.

Elsewhere, a third person died after a theatre roof collapsed in Belvidere, Illinois, during another tornado with 28 people injured as the Midwest struggles with intense and destructive storms.

The collapse happened during a heavy metal concert at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, which is about 70 miles northwest of Chicago.

The governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, confirmed that two people had died in the twister with several other people reported to be trapped in the destruction.

The tornado also caused widespread wreckage of homes, overturned cars and uprooted trees.

The total number of people injured is unknown. Around 90,000 customers experienced electricity outages in the state.

The mayor of Little Rock, Frank Scott Jr, said on Twitter: “At this time, we know of 24 people who have been hospitalised at Little Rock hospitals and we are not aware of any fatalities in Little Rock.”

The Baptist Health Medical Centre in the adjoining town of North Little Rock separately reported it was treating 11 patients from the storm, with one in a critical condition.

Other towns further away from Little Rock have also reported mass destruction and injuries.

Richard Dennis, the police chief in the town of Wynne – around 100 miles east of Little Rock, told a local television station there was “total destruction throughout the town” with dozens of people trapped.

The twister was caused by one of several violent thunderstorms that have battered the south and Midwest regions of the US – home to some 85 million people.

The destructive storm system has also caused other tornados in Iowa, damaging hail in Illinois and wind-whipped grass fires in Oklahoma.

People were urged to evacuate in parts of Oklahoma City to escape the fires.

Meteorologists are forecasting another batch of intense storms next Tuesday in the same large area.

The fatal tornado came as President Joe Biden toured the aftermath of another deadly tornado that struck Mississippi a week ago. It killed at least 21 people and damaged around 2,000 homes.

Governor Huckabee Sanders activated 100 members of the Arkansas National Guard to help local authorities respond to the damage throughout the state.

“Praying for all those who were and remain in the path of this storm,” Ms Hucakabee Sanders, who declared a state of emergency, said on Twitter.

“Arkansans must continue to stay weather aware as storms are continuing to move through.”

In Little Rock, local Niki Scott took cover in the bathroom after her husband called to say a tornado was headed her way.

She could hear glass shattering as the tornado roared past, and emerged afterward to find that her house was one of the few on her street that didn’t have a tree fall on it.

“It’s just like everyone says. It got really quiet, then it got really loud,” Ms Scott said afterward, as chainsaws roared and sirens blared in the area.

Ahead of her first TV role airing Lily Allen has spoken to Sky News about why she’s moved from music to drama and how her own “dysfunctional” family helped inform her character.

In new comedy Dreamland she plays a woman returning to her family in Margate, who soon finds out she’s brought more than she expected home with her when she discovers she’s pregnant.

It’s not Allen‘s first acting gig, but it is her first TV role and the Brit Award-winning artist, who has lived much of her life in the public eye, says it’s given her a way to express herself while she takes a break from music.

“I feel like one of the reasons I’m not really writing music and putting it out there or spending a lot of time on social media is that it feels very heavy out there at the moment and I feel a bit too exposed and I feel a bit sensitive in that environment,” she said.

“I don’t really want to put myself out there and my experiences, but I still want to talk about the human experience and dive into those experiences a little bit more, try and make sense of the world I guess?

“And I think drama or drama comedy in this instance has enabled me to do that, it’s a different medium but it’s still doing the same thing – we’re just telling stories.”

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Dreamland is about four sisters and explores the complexities of sibling relationships.

Despite growing up in a very different environment to her character – Allen is the daughter of the comedian and actor Keith Allen – she says there was still plenty to relate to.

“The sort of similarities and not the differences is obviously the things that I honed in on and, you know, my family is quite dysfunctional,” she laughed.

“So there was a lot for me to draw on there.”

Weaving serious issues in with comedy, the show isn’t all fun in the sun – tackling themes of racism, homophobia and misogyny.

Former Dr Who star Freema Agyeman plays Allen’s half-sister – and the only one of the four who isn’t white.

She told Sky News she was impressed by the way the more serious topics were handled.

“There’s a book, The Mixed Race Experienced by Natalie and Naomi Evans, who write about what it was like being mixed race growing up in Margate specifically,” Agyeman said.

“So that was very much pulled on and then, of course, I can identify with so much of that, but also have my own experiences that [the showmakers] were very open for me to share.

“I like it when it’s done with thought and care and collaboration, and I felt like that was happening here… You can’t deep dive into everything, but you can have discussions, or raise issues and address themes and hope that people will go away and think about that.”

Dreamland will air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW from 6 April.

The Port of Dover has declared a “critical incident” after coaches experienced lengthy delays due to significant levels of traffic ahead of the Easter getaway.

Ferry operators P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways also reported delays to ferry and coach services, citing bad weather and hold-ups at French border controls as partly responsible for the queues.

The critical incident comes as thousands of passengers prepare to travel through the port during the holiday period.

A spokesperson for the port said: “Our present high volumes, combined with extended processing at border controls, has resulted in lengthy delays for coach passengers.”

“We apologise for the inconvenience these delays may have caused to passenger journeys and thank all port users for their patience at this time,” the spokesperson added.

P&O Ferries said it was providing refreshments to coach passengers who had been stuck at the cruise terminal for hours.

The company also said it was trying to get food and drink to passengers waiting in the buffer zone at the entrance to the port.

In Twitter posts this evening, P&O Ferries apologised for the wait times and said it scheduled an extra sailing this evening in an effort to clear the backlog.

It blamed “the time it is taking to process each vehicle at French border controls” for the delay.

Meanwhile DFDS Seaways was reporting delays of up to two hours this evening due to “winds in the Channel”.

The company posted at multiple points on Friday: “We know it’s really busy today and we want you to know that we are doing all we can to get all customers on their way as quickly as possible.

“We know this isn’t the ideal start to your trip but our teams are ready to welcome you onboard once checked in.”

Hundreds of thousands of small businesses could face “tough decisions” following changes to the energy support scheme, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.

The Energy Bills Discount scheme has been introduced to provide UK businesses, charities and the public sector support with energy bills.

This scheme for non-domestic energy users will see discounts provided on high energy bills until 31 March 2024.

Until now, the Energy Bill Relief scheme capped energy costs, but the new support measure will only see bills discounted.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) estimates around 370,000 small businesses will be negatively impacted by it.

Craig Beaumont, Chief of External Affairs at the FSB, told Sky News that these small businesses will face “tough decisions” in the months ahead.

He said: “We’ll see some small businesses reduce their hours of operation, we’ll have some having to let staff go, or look at other major expenditures.

“We expect some small businesses to close down altogether.”

Mr Beaumont added that the new support scheme “won’t help their bills”.

He said: “The first government energy scheme was a fixed price, this second scheme is only a small discount, which means that while before you’d have your bill cut to about 25% of what it would’ve been, your new bill will be nearly exactly where it was last August.

“For a specific group of firms this is really bad news – if you’re variable tariff or if you’re out of your contract you’re okay.

“But if you’re fixed – especially if you fixed last August – you’re in serious trouble.”

Ruby Byrne, owner of Ruby B Salon, told Sky News that her “worst case scenario” is struggling with costs so much that she has to sacrifice the service she provides her clients.

She’s already considering solutions should she struggle to pay bills.

Ms Byrne said: “In the 13 years that I’ve been open, I’ve only ever increased my prices once.

“I may have to do it again so that’s going to affect what clients I get, if they come back, and how often they come.

“That’s obviously going to affect my business.”

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A government spokesperson told Sky News: “Companies large and small will benefit from the baseline discount through our new energy bills scheme and do not need to apply for it, and a higher level of support will be provided to the most energy and trade-intensive businesses of all sizes.

“While no national government can control the global factors pushing up the price of energy and other business costs, we continue to stand by business.

“That’s why we provided them and other non-domestic energy users with an unprecedented package of support, enabling some businesses to pay around half of predicted wholesale energy costs this winter.”

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother have been released from jail in Romania and placed under house arrest for 30 days instead, according to court documents.

The self-proclaimed misogynist, 36, and his sibling Tristan were released from a detention facility in Bucharest just before midnight local time.

Leaving the facility, Tristan Tate told reporters that “the judges today made the right decision.”

“I respect what they’ve done for me and they will be vindicated in their decision, because I’m an innocent man and I can’t wait to prove it,” he said.

The brothers then pushed through the crowds to a car with darkened windows and drove off while supporters chanted “Top-G, Top-G”, a name many of Andrew Tate’s fans refer to him as.

The pair, along with two Romanian women Naghel Georgiana Manuela and Radu Alexandra Luana, are being investigated by prosecutors in the capital Bucharest.

Georgiana Manuela has been widely reported to be Andrew Tate’s girlfriend.

The four suspects have been detained for months over allegations of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

They have denied all the accusations.

Andrew Tate’s communications director, Mateea Petrescu, told Sky News: “They are not a flight risk and they are not a danger to public safety, therefore [the authorities] have decided to release them under house arrest.

“[It’s] just a small step — they are still under investigation

“They are absolutely ecstatic. They kept their spirits [in jail], they are really thrilled and looking forward to being at home – they have kept their optimism throughout.”

An order from an appeals court in Bucharest said it “rejects the proposal to extend the duration of the preventive arrest measure.. regarding the defendants Tate III Emory Andrew, Tate Tristan, Naghel Georgiana Manuela and Radu Alexandra Luana.

“[The court] replaces the measure of preventive detention ordered against the defendants.. with the preventive measure of house arrest, for a period of 30 days.”

The document concluded that it “orders the immediate release of the defendants”.

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British-American Andrew Tate, who has been based mainly in Romania since 2017, is an online influencer who has amassed millions of followers, particularly young men.

The former professional kickboxer and his sibling were taken into custody on 29 December last year and neither of them has been formally charged in the case. They have had previous requests to be released from custody rejected four times since December.

Romania’s anti-organised crime agency DIICOT said in a statement after the arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were allegedly subjected to “acts of physical violence and mental coercion” and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.

Romanian authorities said they had seized goods and money worth almost £3.25m from the controversial influencer’s villa, including luxury cars.

Tate is banned from Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for violating rules on “dangerous individuals” and breaching hate speech rules. He was kicked off Twitter in 2017, but allowed back in November 2022.