Spain floods leave King 'heartbroken'

THE King and Queen are "utterly heartbroken" by the deadly Spanish floods which have killed at least 211 people and left 2,000 missing.

- Tony Whitfield

In a letter to King Felipe VI, Charles extended their "most sincere and heartfelt condolences" to his counterpart and "to the people of Spain for the tragic loss of so many lives".

He added: "So many people in the UK have strong, personal ties to Spain and our nations are bound by so much that we have in common." King Felipe and Queen Letizia are due to visit the Valencia area today.

But yesterday, there was widespread criticism of the country's national and regional governments for the inadequate and slow response to the deadliest storm in living memory.